The Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. — State wildlife managers have killed a female gray wolf they say preyed on livestock in northeast Washington state.
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.
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.