Feds announce new wolf control rules
BOISE, Idaho, March 3 (UPI) —
The Interior Department announced new rules Wednesday making it easier for ranchers in two western states to kill wolves that threaten their livestock.
The proposed regulations will allow the slaying of marauding wolves without a permit in parts of Montana and Idaho if the predators are attacking or harassing livestock or go after pets and herding dogs. State wildlife officials will be able to eliminate wolves taking a heavy toll on big game animals.
The animals won’t be stricken from the Endangered Species List even though Interior Secretary Gale Norton said in Washington that wolf populations in the northern Rockies “far exceed their recovery goals.” That’s because a third state in the region, Wyoming, hasn’t yet come up with a wolf-management plan that meets federal requirements.
Wolves have killed around 1,100 cattle and sheep since they were reintroduced to the area in 1995.