The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is considering killing a second wolf from the Couse pack, which keeps attacking cattle in Asotin County in the south-east of the state.

The department confirmed on 23 September that the pack had injured a calf. It was the pack's seventh attack on cattle since 19 February, and it came a week after the department shot an adult male wolf on 17 September following the sixth attack and paused to see whether the attacks would stop.

Department staff will send a recommendation to Director Kelly Susewind within a few days. Under the department's policy, lethal removal is considered after four attacks in 10 months or three attacks in 30 days; the Couse pack has crossed only the first of those thresholds.

The department shoots wolves in the hope that the rest of the pack stops attacking livestock. According to the department, ranchers have tried non-lethal measures to prevent the attacks, including regular patrols around their herds. The report was written by Don Jenkins.

Photo: Tracy Brooks / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Source: Capital Press