The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has renewed plans to hunt down members of the Wedge Pack in the state's northeast near the Canadian border. The wolf pictured is from a different pack in Oregon.
credit:
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has re-issued the kill order for four wolves in the Wedge Pack, which resides in the Northeastern corner of the state. Starting Wednesday morning, marksmen will take to the field.
Ten cows have been injured or killed on the Diamond M ranch since July, with two more incidents 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 after 12 days of unsuccessful hunting.
Now, that order’s back on.
The pack is believed to number up to 12 wolves total.
The wolf management plan allows for the killing of some wolves, but environmental groups believe killing four pack members is too much.
Ranchers urged the Department to continue the hunt until the predation stops.
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