Three hunters in Idaho’s northern panhandle killed 12 wolf pups on April 25 and were paid by officials, according to state records obtained by the Guardian and Public Domain. The pups were likely one to three weeks old. The hunters were paid up to $2,000 per wolf during the hunting season that ended in June, and the pups were included in that count, the British daily reported. The killings have drawn criticism from wildlife advocates, particularly over evidence suggesting that hunters may have targeted wolf dens.
Three hunters killed a dozen wolf pups this spring
Three separate hunters used rifles to kill a dozen wolf pups this spring, and the state’s own records show that each kill was paid for, the paper reported. The pups were most likely one to three weeks old, too young to have teeth that officers could sample, Idaho Fish and Game biologist Cory Mosby told the publication. The killings took place on a single day in April, in Idaho’s northern panhandle, and the hunters were paid up to $2,000 for each animal.The programme is funded by taxpayers, hunting licence sales and contributions from the Foundation for Wildlife Management, a non-profit organisation. The foundation reimburses the hunter, and the state’s Wolf Depredation Control Board oversees the claims. A hunter must present a skull and hide, with proof of sex, to a wildlife officer for every wolf killed. A tooth is used to estimate the animal’s age.Brooks Fahy, director of the wildlife advocacy group Predator Defense, condemned the programme and questioned the use of public money to support the killings. “It’s an abomination. I think most people, even in Idaho, if they actually understood the depth of this, the fact that taxpayer dollars are paying for this – they would be appalled,” Fahy told the paper.He also described the reimbursement arrangement as a bounty and expressed dismay at the killing of newborn pups. “What kind of receipts are you going to show for 12 pups who weigh 12lbs? It’s ridiculous on its face and the state of Idaho should be ashamed.”Experts have also raised concerns about how the pups were killed. The records describe all 12 kills as stalks, in which a hunter spots an animal and creeps close enough to shoot. Two entries also state that “no weapon” was used, even though the same records describe rifle shots. What the records say and what they do not say is concerning.Wolf experts told the publication that the stalking account does not fit the pattern. They argue that a hunter could more easily find a den, watch the mother come and go, wait for the pups to arrive and then pull them out. Carter Niemeyer, a former federal wildlife official who spent nearly three decades working in predator control, said modern trail cameras with cellular connections make that kind of observation easy.“Killing six wolves or 12 wolves total all on the same day by stalking – that doesn’t happen. Never heard of it,” Niemeyer said.Doug Smith, who once led Yellowstone’s wolf programme, has taken pups from dens himself for research. He said the parents usually back off and bark from about 50 yards away. The pups, in his words, are easy to dig out.Smith also expressed concern about killing the whole litter. During the summer, wolves spread out and return to the den later in the year to regroup. The pups are the reason they regroup at all. Kill a litter and the pack can fracture or disappear.Idaho’s 2023 management plan calls for a population of about 650 wolves in spring. The state estimates that the population peaked at nearly 1,600 in 2019, and it still stood at more than 1,100 this year. Cory Mosby, a Fish and Game biologist, said reaching the target would require killing more than a third of the population every year. According to Mosby, the permissive rules, including the year-round season, will be tightened as the population falls.Meanwhile, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming have all taken over wolf management since the animals were reintroduced in the 1990s and have pursued aggressive tactics to reduce their numbers.
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