Wolfers (hunting)

Wolfers was a term used to refer to both professional and civilian wolf hunters who operated in North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1860, the majority of wolfers were civilians who having failed to make their fortune on the Great Plains through minerals, transport or land, worked as menial laborers who hunted wolves as a formal occupation for extra income.

Wolfer activities peaked from 1875–1895 as cattlemen increasingly blamed all economic shortfalls on wolf depredation, resulting in some dedicated hunters laying down poison in lines of up to 150 miles.

In some cases, wolfers would kill wolf pups and deliberately spare the mother in order to allow her to breed again the next year.

In Canada, a government-backed wolf extermination programme was initiated in 1948 after serious declines in caribou herds in the Northern Territories and a rabies concern due to wolves migrating south near populated areas.