Even though it’s legal to hunt wolves in Alaska, eating wolf meat is not recommended. Wolves are prone to certain diseases and parasites like tapeworms which may be detrimental to your health if consumed.
But some people may eat wolf meat; adventurers, in particular, may help themselves to the meat of the wolves they hunt for survival.
Is Hunting Wolves Legal In Alaska?
Alaska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana are the only states in the United States where hunting wolves is legal. Humans are the biggest threat to wolves; there aren’t many species that can kill wolves, and therefore, they remain at the top of the predator hierarchy.
Hunters need a permit to hunt wolves; it could either be a hunting or a trapping licence.
Related: Are there Wolves in Colorado?
Why Is It Unsafe To Eat Wolf Meat?
The answer to this question depends on the diet of the wolf that has been hunted, which, incidentally, is quite impossible to know.
Wolves eat almost any sort of meat; it is a known fact that they return to the site of the kill several times after they’ve hunted. They continue to eat meat off the dead carcass even after it’s been left alone under the elements for days.
It’s quite possible that you’ve hunted a wolf that’s just dined on rotten meat, in which case you would invariably consume rotten meat yourself which could be detrimental to your health.
You might also be interested in: Are there Snakes in Alaska? | Can you eat Bear in Alaska?
Final Thoughts
Even though hunting wolves is allowed in Alaska, you need to be a responsible hunter and exercise a little compassion. Hunting nursing mothers along with cubs has been legalised in Alaska, but it does not comply with the set of ethics that the hunters are supposed to adhere to.
When hunting wild animals, the hunter needs to uphold the values of fair chase, which means that the hunter has to make sure that the animal is an adult animal and free to roam.
An ethical hunter would never hunt down an animal that’s trapped; the hunters are supposed to allow the animal the chance to escape.
The rules of fair chase are taught to those who want to get a hunting licence, and if you’ve acquired a hunting licence, chances are you know what these rules are, and you have a responsibility to adhere to these rules.
To elaborate more on the point: you should shoot the animal to kill, not to make it suffer; to achieve that, you need to be a skilled hunter.