Rock Legend Iggy Pop Urges Gov. Snyder to Cancel Wolf Hunt, and Let the People Decide
Rock Legend Iggy Pop Urges Gov. Snyder to Cancel Wolf Hunt, and Let the People Decide
Protests “Senseless Killing of These Majestic Animals for Sport”
Michigan native Iggy Pop, a music legend and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has endorsed the Keep Michigan Wolves Protected campaign to stop the trophy hunting of wolves and restore the right of Michigan voters to have a say over wildlife policy. Michigan’s first wolf hunt in decades begins tomorrow.
In a letter to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, dated Nov. 12, 2013, Pop writes: “As a Michigan native and someone who has cared about animals, both wild and domestic, for as long as I can remember, I was dismayed…that a bill you signed last May (S.B. 288/P.A. 21) gave Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission the authority to decide which animals can be hunted…which resulted in the first authorized wolf hunt since wolves underwent state protection in 1965.”
“To further compound the issue Mlive.com just unveiled several investigative reports that reveal the state used ‘half-truths’ and ‘falsehoods’ to support authorizing a hunting season on wolves in Michigan. The reports make clear that the decision to approve wolf hunting was based on fraudulent information and not sound science,” said Pop.
“I am asking all of my fans in Michigan to sign up and help gather signatures to reverse this decision and protect the wolf from future hunts,” Pop continues. “The senseless killing of these majestic animals for sport is a disappointment to the people of Michigan and a stain on its Government.” He called on Gov. Snyder to “do the right thing by staying the hunt and allowing the people’s voice to be heard” on the issue.
The endorsement by Iggy Pop, who was born in Muskegon and grew up in Ypsilanti, follows an investigation by Mlive.com revealing that lawmakers used details of a wolf sighting outside an Upper Peninsula daycare that never occurred; the Department of Natural Resources’ furbearer specialist lied in a radio interview about wolves threatening people outside their homes; the U.P. farmer who reported more than 60 percent of wolf-livestock incidents over the past three years baited wolves using deer and cattle carcasses in violation of state law; and the Natural Resources Commission asked for public input about the wolf hunt and then deleted or ignored more than 10,000 email comments on the subject.
Pop’s endorsement joins a long list of people and organizations that oppose the Michigan wolf hunt.
Last March, Keep Michigan Wolves Protected – a coalition of animal welfare groups, conservationists, veterinarians, business owners, faith leaders and Native American tribes – submitted more than 255,000 signatures of Michigan residents allowing voters to decide in the November 2014 election if the wolf should be designated as a game animal. Before the people even had an opportunity to vote on the issue, legislators and the governor hastily approved a second law (P.A. 21) allowing the unelected, political appointees of the Natural Resources Commission to designate the wolf and other protected animals as game species, which would no longer be subject to the voter referendum process.
Click here to view Iggy Pop’s letter to Gov. Snyder.
Keep Michigan Wolves Protected launched a second petition drive in August to overturn P.A. 21. Persons interested in volunteering, donating or learning more about the issue can visit KeepWolvesProtected.com.
