Gunned Down and Trapped, Idaho’s Gray Wolves Are Dying

Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter said, in 2007, that he wanted to be the first to kill a gray wolf in the state when the species became delisted. Well, he probably got his wish when Congress took away federal protections for the gray wolf in Idaho — a move that was probably too premature, as many of the wolf populations had not fully recover in numbers yet. Now, on March 20, the Idaho Legislature passed House Bill 470, a bill created to form a “board” to essentially kill more wolves.

The board, of which all members would be appointed by Otter himself, would consist of “representatives of the agricultural, livestock and hunting communities,” according to a Center for Biological Diversity press release. The board also plans to use $400,000 in state funds for this purpose.

Right now, state and federal officials have hired killers — sharpshooters and hunters — to kill the “excess” wolf populations. And since 2011, when gray wolves were no longer protected under the Endangered Species Act, 954 of them have been killed “for fun” by recreational hunters.

“Yet again, Idaho has put a black eye on decades of tireless work to return wolves to the American landscape,” said Amaroq Weiss, West Coast wolf organizer at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Sign the petition below to tell Idaho officials that the wolf extermination program is not alright, and that this needs to stop now:

Image Source: Serge Melkie/Flickr