The state recently killed the three members of the Wedge pack, the latest flashpoint in a fierce debate over how to best manage the carnivores.
STATE 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. She and two other wolves made up the Wedge pack, which had killed four cattle and injured 12 in the area since April. 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.