Wolf advocates outraged that state preparing to kill wolves

OLYMPIA, Wash.- The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has indicated it plans to kill the entire Profanity Peak wolf pack over conflicts with livestock on national forest lands in northern Ferry County.

“At that time, we said we would restart this operation if there was another wolf attack, and now we have three”, Donny Martorello, the wolf policy lead of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement.

If the state doesn’t succeed at dealing with the wolves, local officials have tasked the sheriff’s office with killing the animals.

“It’s tragic to see wolves killed, and I hope we continue to see growing wolf populations in Washington despite the yearly culling that inevitably takes place”, Nick Cady, the legal director at Cascadia Wildlands, said in a statement ahead of the shootings.

According to a report from King 5, the movement to eliminate the 11 wolves began at the start of the month of August when five cows were discovered dead or injured. “The department is committed to wolf recovery, but we also have a shared responsibility to protect livestock from repeated depredation by wolves”.

The Profanity Peak wolves are one of 19 confirmed packs that live in Washington state. Presently, state has 90 wolves as of June.

As alarming as it may sound, it is true: endangered wolves in Washington are threatened once more.

“I was told that removal of half the pack would make a difference, and now we’re being told they are going to remove the entire pack”, said Democratic state Sen. In 2012 almost the entire Wedge pack was killed over livestock conflicts that occurred partly on federal public land, and in 2014 the agency sought to kill members of the Huckleberry pack – and did kill the pack’s breeding female – over livestock conflicts that occurred partly on state-owned lands. The state faces opposition from tribes and pressure from locals as they proceed.

Under Washington’s wolf plan, livestock owners are eligible for taxpayer-funded compensation for losses.

Those collars are now being used to locate and kill the wolves.

In general, conservationists are against wildlife culls, especially when they involve endangered species.

The Kettle Range Conservation Group seeks to defend wilderness, protect biodiversity and restore ecosystems of the Columbia River Basin. Tyler Abbott, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s deputy field supervisor for Wyoming, said that the problem will escalate further during late summer and fall when the pups have grown and require more food.