Rather than focus on the practical economic concerns of Wisconsin families, such as high fuel and food prices and health care and drug pricing, Tiffany howls against wolves
MADISON — Animal Wellness Action announced an independent expenditure against U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race, calling him out for “pushing wolf trapping and hunting in Madison and Washington” as “Wisconsin families worry about grocery bills and health care costs.” The organization also noted that Tiffany’s promotion of extreme anti-wolf policies in Wisconsin has been a case of self-sabotage, with the federal courts recognizing that Wisconsin does not have appropriate state controls in place to prevent wholesale killing of wolves.
“Tom Tiffany’s strange and overreaching obsession with killing wolves, setting up a mandatory wolf hunting season with packs of dogs, steel traps, and snares, has had the ironic effect of helping to keep wolves on the federal list of endangered species,” charged Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “Judges won’t remove federal protections if the states will go on killing sprees against wolves, negating any progress toward recovery.”
Wisconsin’s wolf population is part of the state’s unique character and holds cultural significance for Ojibwe communities. Research by University of Wisconsin–Madison economist Jennifer Raynor and her colleagues found that wolves also save Wisconsinites’ lives every year by naturally managing deer populations, reducing car collisions by about 24 percent and saving people millions of dollars a year in repair costs.
Wolves are also the only natural deterrent to the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), an infectious neurological disease that reduces deer populations available each hunting season. In areas with an active wolf population to prey on infected deer, rates of CWD are almost nonexistent. In southern Wisconsin, where there are no wolves, CWD rates exceed 20%.
Despite these documented benefits wolves provide to Wisconsin, as a state senator, Tiffany was a key architect of a law that authorized trophy hunting and commercial trapping of wolves, including night hunting, the use of attack dogs, and the use of steel-jawed leghold traps and snares. After the Trump Administration delisted wolves on the eve of the November 2020 election, the Tiffany law triggered an automatic hunt.
In approximately 60 hours, hunters and trappers reported killing 218 wolves—nearly double the state’s 119-wolf allocation.According to state records, 86 percent of the reported kills involved the use of dogs – setting up an open-air dogfighting situation. Wolves were pursued during their breeding season, often through deep winter snow.
Tiffany later pursued legislation targeting wolf conservation funding and, as a member of Congress, championed bills to remove federal Endangered Species Act protections for wolves. His congressional proposals went so far as to prevent judicial review of delisting decisions by federal agencies.
“Wisconsin families are struggling with the rising costs of fuel, food, and health care, yet Tiffany’s focus remains on killing wolves with packs of dogs, steel traps, and night-vision goggles. Why is he prioritizing the pursuit and killing of wolves instead of addressing the issues that affect people’s everyday lives?” said Helen Summerfield-Brown of Kewaskum.
“Tom Tiffany has an obsession with killing wolves. How does that help the average Wisconsinite?” added Karen Eckert of La Crosse.
“Tom Tiffany has one focus and that has been killing wolves and weakening protection for animals,” said Paul Collins, Wisconsin state director for Animal Wellness Action. “That type of extremism is the last thing Wisconsin needs in a governor.”
The Animal Wellness Action ad, running across the state, can be seen here. A profile of Rep. Tiffany’s work in Congress, including his hostile record toward any anti-cruelty policies, can be viewed here.