Wolves in SE Washington pack to be killed ‘incrementally’ by state officials after livestock attacks

The director of the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife this week authorized the “incremental” killing of wolves in southeastern Washington with a goal to stop attacks on livestock.

Agency officials could not say how many wolves would be killed, but said other nonlethal measures would not be appropriate for the situation.

The order is the second this month that calls for killing wolves in the Couse pack. On Sept. 17, the department killed an adult male. Since then, at least one member of the pack attacked again.

Over the last 10 months, members of the Couse pack have attacked livestock at least seven times, with four confirmed fatalities, the state says. The attacks affected two livestock owners. The state offers reimbursement for livestock owners whose animals have been killed by wolves.

In December, the Couse pack had at least five members, according to the department’s annual wolf report. Department staff say that full pack removal is not the goal.

“The number of wolves ultimately removed is dependent on the size of the pack and which animals are removed,” a department spokesperson said in an email.

Critics say the department isn’t transparent about its kill orders, also known as lethal removals, and say it prioritizes livestock owners over the state-endangered grey wolves.

“Alarmingly, its public notice states neither how many wolves may be killed nor when the order expires,” said Francisco Santiago Ávila, science and advocacy director at Washington Wildlife First. “Publicly, this is an open-ended authorization, and an extraordinary measure toward a state-endangered species.”

Gray wolves in Washington are considered endangered under state law. Though gray wolves in the eastern third of the state were federally delisted in 2011, legal protections still apply to the entire state.

“When killing fails, more killing is not science; it is a preference,” Santiago Ávila said in an email. “Both wolves and the Washington public deserve better.”