After the Death of Red Wolves, a order has been placed temporarily to shutdown coyote hinting in North Carolina.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported Friday that seven red wolves have been found dead from gunshot wounds in eastern North Carolina since the state Wildlife Resources Commission allowed overnight coyote hunting in August.
But in sometime, people are mistaking the red wolves for coyotes and killing them
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission established a temporary rule in August allowing hunters to shoot coyotes at night in response to complaints that the rapidly spreading predator was killing livestock. The Southern Environmental Law Centre and other group complained that people kill wolves in night instead of coyote.
In 1980, red wolves were declared extinct in the wild. In 1987, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established a small group of wild red wolves in northeastern North Carolina, a region where they historically had lived, Rabon said.
Most are collared and monitored as they roam nearly two million acres of forests and wetlands on federal, state and private lands.
Coyotes have shown up in all 100 North Carolina counties and proven hard to control in spite of aggressive hunting practices. A sterilization program better controls coyote populations, according to red wolf advocates.
Anyone with information on the death of the red wolves are advised to call Special Agent Sandra Allred at (919) 856-4786, Refuge Officer Frank Simms at (252) 216-7504 or North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Officer Robert Wayne at (252) 216-8225.