Wisconsin Senate set to vote on groundhog hunting, trapping

By Christen Smith

Wisconsin senators could approve a bill removing groundhogs, or woodchucks, from the state’s protected species list. The animals are known to damage gardens, home foundations, sidewalks and roads. (Photo: National Geographic)
Wisconsin senators have scheduled a vote this week on a proposal removing groundhogs from the state’s protected species list — leaving residents to deal with the critters as they see fit.
The Wisconsin Assembly approved AB 323 on a voice vote in June. The bill establishes an open hunting and trapping season year round with no bag limits. A resident with the appropriate small game hunting and trapping licenses could participate, according to the proposal’s language.
It’s not the first time Wisconsin lawmakers mulled groundhog hunting. A near-identical bill introduced in 2013 met fierce opposition from animal rights activists, preventing any committee hearings, according to the Associated Press. This time around, only the Humane Society of the United States has registered in opposition.
Humane Society lobbyist Melissa Tedrowe told the Associated Press in May residents could use non-lethal methods of removing the animals from problem areas, such as plugging up holes with urine-soaked cat litter or building fences around gardens.
For the scores of bill supporters, however, such tactics appear futile. “These ‘ferocious herbivores’ … have the ability

Source: Guns.com