‘An abomination’: the story of the massacre that killed 216 wolves

In Wisconsin, hunters are allowed to use hound dogs to kill wolves. In the midst of a politically volatile context, activists are now filming the hunts to raise the alarm

The woods were full of the sounds of snowmobiles and baying hounds. A group of perhaps a dozen hunters had gathered to give chase to big game along a frozen creek in north-eastern Wisconsin.

Hound hunting, chiefly for black bear and coyote, is a popular pastime in this part of the state. But the houndsman who emerged from the hemlocks onto a snowy road around twilight held a different kind of trophy.