In this July 16, 2004, file photo is a gray wolf at the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake, Minn. A Wisconsin judge is to decide Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, whether to issue an injunction blocking wolf hunts while he weighs a lawsuit filed by a coalition of humane societies. They allege the DNR failed to set up restrictions on the use of dogs, creating the potential for bloody wolf-dog fights in the woods. / AP Photo/Dawn Villella, file
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MADISON — Attorneys for the state Department of Natural Resources are telling a judge agency leaders felt the Legislature didn't give them the authority to place restrictions on using dogs to hunt wolves this fall.
A coalition of humane societies has filed a lawsuit challenging the wolf hunt. They allege the DNR failed to set up restrictions on the use of dogs, creating the potential for bloody wolf-dog fights in the woods.
Dane County Circuit Judge Peter C. Anderson held a hearing Wednesday to decide whether to issue an injunction blocking the hunt while he weighs the lawsuit. The judge began the hearing by asking Assistant Attorney General Cynthia Hirsch why the DNR didn't impose restrictions. Hirsch responded that the agency thinks the law creating the hunt doesn't call for protecting dogs.
More on wolves in Wisconsin: Wolf hunting news from around the state | Trail cameras capture wolf activity
