SANDPOINT (AP) | State officials have suspended an Idaho wildlife company license, arguing that the center’s interactive experience with wolves violates a 2012 agreement by letting the public touch the animals.
The Bonner County Daily Bee reports that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game notified Wolf People of the suspension in February, and Wolf People challenged the suspension in a court filing Thursday.
The Sandpoint newspaper reports that the exhibition permit would have expired on Thursday had Wolf People not filed the petition.
Wolf People, based in Cocolalla, said in its petition that the agreement didn’t expressly prohibit people from touching wolves. Attorney Art Bistline said the agreement allowed the interaction under the direct supervision and permission of Wolf People employees.
He also said that the planned one-year license suspension is punitive.
“No remedial measures were proposed by Fish & Game,” he wrote in the petition.
Besides failing to prevent visitors from touching the center’s 23 wolves, state officials also said the company violated the 2012 agreement by failing to get a $50,000 bond to guarantee compliance.
The agreement sought to resolve 43 violations brought against the company but primarily cited violations of the hands-off clause. Other violations cited by the state included failing to report the births and deaths of wolves, transporting wolves without permission and failing to report a wolf escape in 2011.