Wildlife managers in Washington plan to remove a wolf pack in the northeast part of the state. The Smackout pack, one of 20 wolf packs documented by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), is responsible for four attacks since September 2016.
WDFW’s Wolf Management Plan allows the use of lethal measures to address repeated attacks on livestock. An 18-member wolf advisory group, represented by environmentalists, hunters and livestock ranchers, developed the policy.
“The purpose of this action is to change the pack’s behavior, while also meeting the state’s wolf-conservation goals,” said Donny Martorello, WDFW lead wolf manager. “That means incrementally removing wolves and assessing the results before taking any further action.”
Since 2015, WDFW documented that wolves killed three calves and injured three others in the same area of Stevens County.