Red wolves are extremely endangered with only 50-100 wolves in the wild. There current range is small, involving only 5 counties in North Carolina. Despite their extremely endangered status and lack of aggressive behavior towards humans, it is still legal to kill them on sight in North Carolina. Nine of these extremely endangered animals have been killed in the last year. One of these was a nursing mother who was shot for no reason by a property owner who refused to allow government agents on the property to remove the wolf and its litter.
Carnivores in the Eastern U.S. has been virtually exterminated, leading to rampant deer populations that eat crops and cause motor vehicle fatalities. Red wolves do not pose a threat to humans and yet hunters seem determined to kill the last of these beautiful creatures. The majority of Americans overwhelmingly support wildlife maintenance and restoration. Ask North Carolina to stand with wolves and make it illegal to shoot them without permission.
Dear Governor Pat McCrory,
We are writing today to ask you to please stand up for the red wolves of your state. Despite being extremely endangered and having no known cases of human attacks, nine of these precious animals have been shot in your state in the past year. In one case, the property owner shot a nursing mother and would not allow goverment officials to remove the wolf from the property. There are also hunting groups who have dedicated themselves ot the extermination of these wolves because they are concerned that the wolves will decrease the number of deer available for humans to shoot. As an educated person, I am sure you can see how unreasonable this position is, especially given the crop damage and automobile accidents caused by rampant deer populations.
These wolves are a natural part of the ecosystem and merit protection in their own right. Additionally, there presence in Alligator River Wildlife Refuge is a tourism draw for the state. North Carolina has the opportunity to become a leader in the efforts to return our ecosystem to its natural state. Please do everything you can to see that killing wolves is severely punished in your state.
