Washington Kills Wedge Pack Wolf

Heartbreaking news out of northeast Washington: a female adult wolf from the Wedge pack was killed yesterday by the state.      Now just two wolves remain of this pack. Kill orders for up to two wolves of the Togo wolf family remain in place. The state-sanctioned wolf slaughter in Washington on behalf of industry must end. Please support our fight for wolves with a gift to the Wolf Defense Fund. Washington's stubborn reluctance to create new rules to manage conflicts with livestock flies in the face of common sense and science — and is deeply cruel. And it leads to more decimated packs and orphaned wolves, who are left to fend for themselves without the skills to survive. The state isn't even following its own weak policy guidelines. It's using a trigger-happy approach and killing wolves instead of enforcing nonlethal procedures that would save both wolves and cattle. Since 2012 the state has killed 31 wolves. Nearly all were slaughtered for conflicts on public lands, with 26 killed for the same livestock owner. The original Wedge pack was destroyed in 2012. Now a new pack is clinging to survival. Last week we petitioned Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to order the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission to draft enforceable rules that limit when the state can kill endangered wolves. We're seeking a reversal of the commission's denial, last month, of a formal petition for wolf-management rules. The senseless wolf-killing has to end. We'll keep fighting the state until it adopts a new policy. Endangered wolves need to be protected and allowed to thrive in the wild, safe with their families — not shot down from helicopters or while immobilized in painful traps. The Wedge and Togo packs are depending on us. We can't give up on them. Please give today to the Wolf Defense Fund so we can see this fight through. For the wild,

Kierán Suckling Executive Director Center for Biological Diversity P.S. Monthly supporters who give steady gifts of $10 or $20 are vital to the Center's swift and continued action to save wildlife. Do your part by starting a monthly donation.

Donate now to support the Center's work.      Photo courtesy of John and Karen Hollingsworth, USFWS. 0-0-0-0 Center for Biological Diversity P.O. Box 710 Tucson, AZ 85702 United States