Wis. Farming Family’s Dog Killed By Wolves; Congressmen Tiffany, Stauber Talk Wolf Hunt
MASON, Wis. – Living up north means living with some of America’s most beautiful creatures, like gray wolves, which are on the endangered species list. But for a farming family in Mason, Wis., they say the growing wolf population has become a serious problem for their livestock and even their beloved pets, as FOX 21’s Dan Hanger reports.
Growing up on her family’s farm in Mason has been a life-long enjoyable journey for Julie Brilla.
Julie Brilla
“This has been in my family for 67 years, plus 25 years back,” Brilla said.
The livestock is her family’s livelihood, something she says has been abnormally and aggressively threatened the past few years by gray wolves.
Just last summer, wolves killed seven calves at neighbor’s farm, according to Brilla, which is why she installed a nearly $20,000 electric fence with specialized gates around the farm to try to keep the killing outside the property.
“Keep them from going under the gate, you let this down so they can’t get through underneath,” Brilla explained.
Brilla and her husband live on a spacious property just up the road from the farm.
“It is beautiful. We have the woods around us, which there creates predation, which brings in the wolves, and we’ve had Bobcats running right on the lawn here. A lot of deer,” Brilla explained.
Julie Brilla shows nearly $20,000 worth of new fencing around farm to try to keep wolves out.
Besides living among wild animals, Brilla’s home is one for the dogs, especially Cassie — an 11-year-old Labrador she got as a puppy from her husband for Christmas.
“A sweet, very sweet pet. Very docile, nice to other animals,” Brilla described of Cassie.
But earlier this spring, what was a routine bathroom break out back turned into a nightmare.
“I heard her bark once and then yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, which I thought were coyotes,” Brilla explained. “Went around the house calling Cassie, Cassie and she usually comes right away.”
“It was around two o’clock in the morning, Cassie was let out that door to do her bathroom break as she had done for 11 years of her life, coming about 50 yards into the backyard. But it was within just a few minutes when wolves from about 100 yards away came in for the attack,” Hanger explained.
“From letting her off, from me running upstairs, taking the puppy outside, running the puppy back upstairs to the kennel upstairs, coming outside and calling her – it was already done,” Brilla described of the attack. “My son-in-law came with his ranger and found here. She was already dead.”
Cassie after the attack
Sam Jonas is a wildlife species supervisor for the Wisconsin DNR.
“Wolves get a lot of attention for a lot of different reasons. They’re beautiful, they’re majestic. They also can create a lot of controversy. But they also serve a purpose in our ecosystem,” Jonas explained. “Can clean out a lot of, you know, sick animals. And so that’s part of the reason that they serve well, in the ecosystem, they also do a very good job of balancing the deer herd.”
Gray wolves are on the federal endangered species list in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. Jonas says farmers and homeowners should report wolf killings so state and federal officials can keep track of concerning areas of conflict.
“We have to take that into effect when considering management, and all sorts of things like that. So they serve a role. It’s just a balancing act really, what it is,” Jonas said.
Julie Brilla’s son-in-law Greg Martinsen
Brilla’s son-in-law Greg Martinsen was born and raised in Ashland and grew up hunting and fishing.
“The wolves do serve a vital part in the ecosystem. But there’s no other predator that can help manage the wolves,” Martinsen said.
Martinsen believes the wolf population is out of control, terrorizing local farmers. He says he sees it with his own eyes while hunting in the same woods he’s been hunting in all his life.
“We spend a lot of time in the woods in the fall. So we see a lot more wolves. And if you’re seeing wolves, that means there’s a lot of them around and, you know, a lot of the friends and family that I have that are outdoor people as well. They’re telling me the same stuff,” Martinsen said.
And what’s even more frustrating for Martinsen is the current federal law that says a farmer or homeowner can’t kill wolves that are about to kill their own livestock or family dog.
“To me, it’s kind of a joke that you could see the wolf attacking and killing your dog 20 feet in front of you and you could be convicted of a felony if you retaliate against that wolf. So in in a country that you can’t protect your own personal property — that starts to make me a little nervous,” Martinsen said.
Cassie with two other family dogs on each side
“I know that wolves they’re a beautiful animal, but they’re also a killing machine to have the chance presents itself,” Brilla said.
As for Brilla’s other two dogs, she says she is now extra focused on protecting them at night.
“I’m kind of scared to death to take them out. I won’t let them go without a leash. No. So I take them both out on a leash at night, with a flashlight so I can see if there’s anything around,” Brillas said.
Because what’s not around anymore is Cassie.
“She’s just a part of the family. Pet takes a part of your heart. You know, and when they leave, they take that part with them. So we miss her,” Brilla said.
Congressional leaders from Wisconsin and Minnesota are trying to pass the “Trust the Science Act,” which would delist wolves and allow individual states to manage their own heard. The act would also make it legal for people to protect their livestock and family pets.
“When the wolves are coming, snagging people’s pets virtually off from their porches, it’s a real problem. And it’s, it’s just crying out for a solution,” explained Congressman Tom Tiffany, a Republican representing Wisconsin’s 7th District.
“We have these coastal judges who know nothing about wildlife management. And they step in and say the federal government is better at this than the state government. That’s when we run into trouble,” Tiffany explained.
“The deer hunting season in the Upper Great Lakes states is not what it used to be. It’s having economic impacts, and it’s having environmental impacts. With some species, like, you know, whether it is hares or white-tailed deer, you’ve seen their numbers plummet in many areas. And that should be unacceptable, should be unacceptable, because sportsmen are an integral part of our economy in northern Wisconsin in Minnesota,” Tiffany said.
Minn. Congressman Pete Stauber
For Minnesota Congressman Pete Stauber, he believes there are parallel paths to a successful management of wolves by delisting gray wolves and allowing states to put together adequate management plans for a healthy ecosystem while protecting farmers, ranchers, homeowners and their livelihoods.
“There is absolutely no hatred toward the wolves. It’s about proper management. And not only for the wolves themselves, but the other animals. And so that healthy, equal environment is what we’re looking for,” Stauber said.
“I think that we can absolutely get there. My town halls have been full of passion, you know, by hunters and farmers and ranchers and domestic pet owners. And, you know, it is it is really growing to a fever pitch that we really want to make a difference. And, and again, I don’t want to, you know, continue to say this, but we’re going to delist the gray wolf. And we want management to be brought back to the state. We think that the state can manage the gray wolf population. And that would be our goal,” Stauber said.
Resources:
Click here for Wisconsin gray wolf depredation reports and maps
Click here for Minnesota gray wolf depredation information
