Controversial killing of wolves continues in Washington State

PUBLISHED August 17, 2020State wildlife officials have killed the remainder of a wolf pack in eastern Washington and authorized the killing of one to two members of a nearby pack, reaffirming the state’s controversial policy of using lethal means to deal with the predators when they attack cattle.The announcement comes after the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife shot a female wolf on July 27 in Colville National Forest, in the state’s northeast corner. The nearby Leadpoint pack is suspected of killing or injuring six livestock in the past 30 days.The same day as the female’s death, the department released a statement saying it would aim to limit use of lethal controls against its state’s wolves.After the Wedge pack’s female was killed, the pack’s two remaining wolves killed two more cattle. Not long after, the department’s director, Kelley Susewind announced the state would take lethal action against them, and on August 17, the department announced they’d been killed.The state has now killed 34 wolves in eastern Washington in the past eight years for livestock attacks.Source: USFS“We would love not to kill wolves,” says Staci Lehman, a spokesperson for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. “But there are also people whose livelihoods are impacted.”Rancher Len McIrvin, owner of Diamond M Ranch, which lost cattle to the Wedge pack, says that “problem wolves need to be removed.” He says his business has lost more than 70 head of cattle per year since 2008 because of wolf attacks, though the state hasn’t confirmed more than 30 wolf-caused livestock mortalities a year in all of Washington during that time.The female’s death is the latest flashpoint in the state’s fierce debate over wolf conservation. On September 30, 2019, Governor Jay Inslee sent a letter to the wildlife agency requesting that they “significantly reduce the need for lethal removal” of gray wolves.On July 27—the same day the Wedge pack wolf was shot—the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department responded to Inslee’s request, announcing that it will offer more range riding support in “chronic conflict zones,” including the Kettle River Range.