File photo of wolf
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The state of Washington has killed a second wolf from a pack that has been preying on cattle in Ferry County.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife says a marksman shot an adult female wolf on Friday.
The wolf is from the Old Profanity Territory pack that has repeatedly attacked cattle in the Kettle River Range.
The Center for Biological Diversity says the killing of wolves in senseless, and this is the fourth pack the state has decimated to protect the cattle of one rancher.
The wolf shot on Friday was believed to be the breeding female of the pack. The pack is believed to consist now of an adult male and one juvenile.
The state will evaluate whether the hunts have changed the pack’s behavior before undertaking another hun
Exposing the Big Game 
Killing Wolves for Welfare Ranchers: The basic problem is still grazing allotments in wolf territory, then trying to protect cattle from wolves by non lethal and lethal means. It is encroachment which displaces wildlife, including the natural prey for wolves and other predators, and tempts wolves to do what they naturally do which ends up in the deaths of relatively few cattle and many wolves or packs.
Maybe the price of encroachment should be the sacrifice of some cattle to predation, the price of doing business, offset by nonlethal management but not going overboard on protecting ranchers who should not be there. Encroachment is a problem for other wildlife too. Moving cattle onto wilderness areas displaces Wildlife. No matter how many non lethal practices are put into place, cattle, sheep wolves do not mix well. There will be predation.
Never ending encroachment without coexistence is never ending loss of habitat and the death of wildlife. Never ending rancher encroachment is not sustainable. Even if we decide to kill all major wildlife for ranchers, we will still run out of grazing land. Meanwhile the wild is gone. All this sacrifice for ranchers and we have not added the cost of more and more pollution. All this for our meat diets, which none of us need.
An example of compromise and cooperate approach is what WA (WAG, WDFW) did to the Profanity Peak Wolf Pack (2016).
Wolf Haven, Conservation Northwest, Humane Society, Defenders of Wildlife were parties to capitulation in the killing of the Profanity Peak Wolf Pack in their participation in the Wolf Advisory Group (WAG) under foolhardiness of cooperation and compromise with a couple of ranchers, primarily one, on leased public land in rough hilly country, in the Colville National Forest WA. All parties of WAG are bound by the majority opinion, which was to kill the Profanity Peak Pack.
The events and decisions revealed the essential challenges facing wolves: ranchers on leased wilderness public land turning their cattle out and displacing wildlife, baiting wolves with their presence and practices, unwillingness (and not forced to bear and accept the costs of predation on such leases), WDFW/WAG killing wolves for ranchers, the fallacies of lethal versus non lethal management, the foolhardiness of cooperation and compromise in dealing with ranchers who refuse to coexist with wolves, such as Conservation Northwest especially advocates. It is capitulation. Conservationists need to address the core issue of leases to ranchers on prime wildlife habitat. This never ending encroachment has to end. The killing of wolves for intruding ranchers has to end. The protocols for killing wolves desperately need review. The present system is killing wolves for ranchers is not coexistence. WA wolf killing, antecedents of their present protocol has been not working for a few years now (Wedge Pack in 2012, Huckleberry Pack in 2014-2015). Now the Togo Pack is being targeted (2018).
Profanity Peak Wolf Pack set up and sold out
“In 2012 the Department killed seven wolves in the Wedge pack despite the fact that the rancher had taken little action to protect his stock. A similar situation is now taking place in southern Stevens County with the Huckleberry pack. The pack has been involved in multiple depredations of sheep, but there are many questions about the practices of the rancher in question. In particular, the rancher is grazing 1,800 sheep in highly dissected terrain in close proximity to a known wolf rendezvous site. Reportedly, the sheep have been protected merely by four guard dogs since a sheep herder quit roughly a month ago and was not replaced. Additionally, sheep carcasses have been left in the area, serving as a potential attractant to wolves.”
http://www.timberwolfinformation.org/wa-with-huckleberry-wolf-pack-in-crosshairs-conservation-groups-appeal-to-gov-inslee-to-require-rules-limiting-killing-of-washingtons-endangered-wolves/
“Most of the costs for managing wolves in Washington are funded by $10 from each sale of a personalized vehicle license plate, a dedicated funding source approved by the Washington Legislature. In 2013, the state spent $76,500 two remove all eight members of the Wedge Pack in northern Stevens County after they had killed more than a dozen cattle.
So far in 2014, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials have confirmed that wolves in three of the state’s 13-15 confirmed packs have killed 33 sheep, two cattle and one dog.” http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2014/sep/29/tab-huckleberry-wolf-pack-operation-53k/
Tab for Huckleberry wolf pack operation $53K
Posted Sept. 29, 2014, 1:35 p.m.
Mon., Sept. 29, 2014, 1:35 p.m.
“Because of last summer’s depredations, WDFW authorized shooting up to four wolves. One female wolf was killed before WDFW suspended the operation because the sheep were no longer in the pack’s territory.” http://www.capitalpress.com/Livestock/20150822/wdfw-draws-a-line-against-huckleberry-wolf-pack
https://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/livestock/compensation.html
“wedge pack wolves from pacificwolffamily.org
In 2012, after a series of calf and sheep deaths, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife ultimately killed seven members of the Wedge Pack from a helicopter in an attempt to stop the escalating series of attacks.” https://pacificwolffamily.org/thewedgepack/
Posted September 26, 2018
“SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – Washington state officials have determined that wolves from a pack in northeast Washington have injured five additional calves, and they continue efforts to kill some pack members.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife said Tuesday the attacks occurred in Ferry County and were conducted by wolves from the Old Profanity Territory pack.
The agency has already killed one member of the pack, and says it will continue efforts to kill more to stop the depredations.” https://www.kxly.com/news/state-continues-efforts-to-kill-some-members-of-wolf-pack-1/799790681
I am so pissed off about this. It makes no sense. What is the point of bringing wolves back only to slaughter them if they dare predate on a damn cow. The ranchers get paid back for their losses.
ag profiteer into kilkng wildlife, get him and his lousy cattle off any public property. those cattle are environmental destroyers. shut down the ag profiteer now.
Who is eating the beef these ranchers provide? The demand for it is also to blame.
Good point. That brings up a complex issue. If advertisers tell us “It’s what’s for dinner” (or however it translates to Chinese)…