PENDLETON, Ore. – The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is considering a request to take lethal action against the Imnaha wolf pack. The pack is deemed to be responsible for at least four acts of depredation against livestock in the last month. The acts occurred on private land in the Upper Swamp Creek region.
Michelle Dennehy says she expects a ruling on the request to ODFW as early as today.
Under the Oregon Wolf Plan, several conditions must be met for a lethal action to be considered. Those include that there have to have been non-lethal deterrence measures taken, there can be no wolf attractants (like bone piles), and the wolves have to have committed more than one act of depredation.
The animals killed are both cattle and elk. The slaughters have prompted ODFW to create a new area of depredating wolves.
At one point, ODFW had a kill order approved for the Imnaha pack after repeated acts of depredation. It was challenged in court by animal rights activists and halted by a court order. That prompted changes to the plan to bring it into line with what the court had said was necessary.