Judge May Have Set Arbitrary Wolf Trapping Parameters in Montana

The Ninth Circuit seemed to agree with Montana that a federal judge arbitrarily set parameters in a preliminary injunction that restricted the state’s wolf trapping season in order to protect grizzly bears.

“Scientists have been trying to particularize where it is reasonably certain the bears are likely to be found,” Judges Richard C. Tallman of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said during oral arguments Friday. “But the district court’s injunction is much broader than that.”

In August 2023, Montana extended some wolf trapping and snaring in grizzly in bear habitats from the first Monday after Thanksgiving ...