Three Yellowstone Gray Wolf Pups Slaughtered in Montana
Two female pups and a female yearling have been killed in the first week of the hunting season.
Three grey wolves have been slaughtered by hunters in Yellowstone National Park by Montana hunters, according to park officials.
The two female pups and a female yearling from the Junction Butte pack were killed outside the park one week into the hunting season, leaving 24 remaining wolves in the pack.
It’s unclear how the wolves were killed.
Their deaths come after new rulemaking in Montana authorized the widespread killing of wolves in areas bordering the park. These new laws may pave the way for killing approximately 85% of the state’s wolf population while permitting the use of strangulation snares, night hunting, and bait to hunt and trap the animals.
While Montana previously set strict quotas outside Yellowstone National Park to limit the killing of Yellowstone’s wolves, those quotas have been eliminated.
The park is trying to convince Montana to reinstate the quotas to protect the wolves, according to Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly.
“Yellowstone plays a vital role in Montana’s wildlife conservation efforts and its economy. These wolves are part of our balanced ecosystem here and represent one of the special parts of the park that draw visitors from around the globe,” said Sholly. “We will continue to work with the state of Montana to make the case for reinstating quotas that would protect the core wolf population in Yellowstone as well as Montana’s direct economic interests derived from the hundreds of millions spent by park visitors each year.”
The Junction Butte Pack transcends Yellowstone’s northern range and is the most viewed wolf pack in the world, attracting tourists keen for a glimpse of the animals.
Idaho lawmakers have also signed into law a bill that could see the killing of up to 90% of the state’s 1,500 wolves.
But, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) recently announced that wolves in the Northern Rockies may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.
A formal, year-long status review of gray wolves across the western United States has begun after several emergency petitions were sent to the FWS over the summer, calling for the wolves to be relisted as an endangered species.
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