SHANNON DININNY, Associated Press
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Washington officials announced plans Friday to kill a pack of at least eight gray wolves that have been attacking livestock in the state’s northeast corner.
The move is likely to anger some conservation groups and deal a setback to wolf recovery efforts, though state officials said the step was necessary for sustainable, long-term wolf recovery in the region.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said two teams were in the field Friday to try to kill members of the Wedge Pack, which ranges over a remote area of northern Stevens County. Marksmen would hunt the wolves from the ground, and if those efforts were unsuccessful, they might use helicopters to aid their hunt, Director Phil Anderson said in a statement.
The pack is believed to have killed or injured at least 15 cattle from the Diamond M herd that grazes in a large area near the Canadian border, according to the statement. Those attacks have become increasingly more frequent since July, even after the agency killed a non-breeding member of the pack in August, and experts believe the wolves have become dependent on cattle for food.