By ASHLEY AHEARN
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has re-issued the kill order for four wolves in a pack in the Northeastern corner of the state. Starting Wednesday marksmen will take to the field, Ashley Ahearn reports.
10 cows have been injured or killed on the Diamond M ranch since July. Two more incidents were reported after the holiday weekend. The two calves had claw marks on their backs and bites along their hamstrings, confirming that the injuries were a result of a wolf attack.
Conservation Northwest, an environmental group that works on wolf recovery, agreed that wolves were to blame. On Thursday of last week officials called off efforts to kill four members of the Wedge Pack. Now, that order’s back on.
The pack is believed to number up to 12 wolves total. The state wolf management plan allows for the killing of some wolves, but environmental groups believe killing four members of this pack is too much.Ranchers urged the Department to continue the hunt until the predation stops.