OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — In a story Aug. 7 about the state Department of Fish and Wildlife killing a wolf, The Associated Press erroneously reported that wildlife managers killed the female gray wolf because it preyed on livestock. State officials say they don’t know if that specific wolf killed livestock, but they say the pack has and the killing was a form of population control.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Wildlife managers kill gray wolf in NE Wash.
Wildlife managers shoot, kill gray wolf that attacked livestock in northeast Wash.
Fish and Wildlife officials said they shot the animal Tuesday following a series of wolf attacks on a herd in Stevens County near the Canadian border.
Agency director Phil Anderson says the decision was made after officials determined it wouldn’t affect wolf recovery objectives and after non-lethal efforts were used to protect livestock. The wolf killed was part of the Wedge pack.
Officials are attempting this week to remove a second wolf in the area but they don’t plan to target the alpha female and male.
The group Conservation Northwest on Tuesday questioned whether enough non-lethal efforts were made to protect livestock from wolves.
Gray wolves are endangered under state law but are no longer federally protected in the eastern third of Washington. A state plan approved last December allows the state to kill wolves that attack livestock.