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Wildlife Agency That Has Shot 19 Endangered Wolves OKs New Killings
OLYMPIA, Wash.— Wolf supporters and conservation groups will rally Friday at noon in Olympia to protest the state’s ongoing killing of endangered wolves, including the male leader of the Togo pack. The pack leader was shot from a helicopter on Labor Day weekend.
Shortly after noon today the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife issued a new kill order, approving the shooting of the wolves in the Old Profanity Territory pack to benefit the same rancher for whom the state already has destroyed three entire wolf packs. The public lands the wolves are inhabiting is prime wolf territory,
The state has killed at least 19 endangered wolves — including 15 at the request of one rancher — in the past six years.
Officials are killing wolves for conflicts with livestock, mostly on federal public lands, even though ranchers are entitled to compensation for losses. While the department requires little use of nonlethal conflict prevention, scientific evidence shows that shooting wolves is counterproductive and nonlethal measures are more effective.
What: Wolf supporters and members of conservation organizations representing thousands of Washington residents will rally against the state’s killing of endangered wolves.
When: Friday, Sept. 14, noon to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Upstairs outdoor courtyard of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1111 Washington Street, SE, Olympia, WA
Who: Speakers will include Amaroq Weiss, West Coast wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity; Tim Coleman, on behalf of the Eastern Washington Wolf Coalition; and several citizen-activists.
Visuals: Attendees will carry posters and banners with messages in support of protecting wolves; cloth images of killed wolves will be displayed on the ground, and a wolf “die-in” will be re-enacted. Attendees will then march from the courtyard to the 11th Street side of the building to display a large banner and posters visible to passing traffic.
The rally is cosponsored by the Center for Biological Diversity, Endangered Species Coalition, Predator Defense, Eastern Washington Wolf Coalition, Western Washington Wolf Coalition, Olympic Forest Coalition and Farmer Frog. |
