Washington OKs killing wolf from pack that attacked cattle in Stevens County

Washington officials have approved the killing of one wolf from a pack in Stevens County after a series of cattle attacks.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind on Wednesday gave the OK to kill one adult wolf from the Dominion pack.

The decision comes after the pack was found to have killed three calves and injured six others over a short span in July within its territory near Colville.

WDFW said in a news release that the livestock producer affected by the attacks had used nonlethal methods meant to deter wolves, including range riders, removing injured cattle from the range and sanitizing carcasses.

Even with those measures, the attacks continued. The agency hopes killing one wolf will change the pack’s behavior and reduce the likelihood of additional cattle kills in the area.

It’s the first time this year that WDFW has authorized lethal removal for wolves suspected of killing cattle. The last state-sanctioned wolf kills took place last August , when two wolves were killed in Asotin County.

WDFW first investigated an attack in the Dominion pack’s territory on July 19, when one calf was found dead. The investigation confirmed that a wolf was responsible.

On Saturday, agency staff returned to look into the death of another calf and four others that were injured. Another dead calf was found on Sunday.

WDFW determined wolves were responsible in each instance.

Staci Lehman, a WDFW spokesperson, said in an email that staff confirmed Tuesday that wolves from the pack had injured two additional calves.

In its Wednesday announcement, WDFW said the pack has “shown an acute pattern of depredations that occurred during a relatively short period of time.”

The state’s wolf-livestock interaction protocol requires that livestock producers use at least two nonlethal measures to deter wolves before the state will OK lethal removal. In this case, WDFW said that the livestock producer had used more than two deterrents, including near daily range riding, human presence, removing injured cattle from the allotment and sanitizing and removing the carcasses of dead animals.

WDFW staff believe the measures chosen by the producer were the best options, and that the only option beyond lethal removal would be increased range riding, according to the release. They are also working with the Cattle Producers of Washington to increase range riding there, including the possibility of having riders stay overnight with the animals.

Another northeast Washington wolf pack could face lethal removal in the coming days. WDFW is also considering killing wolves from the Leadpoint pack, which is near the Canadian border in Stevens County.

That pack has been deemed responsible for the deaths of two calves and the injury of another in June and July. One of the wolves was killed during that span after being reported to be chasing livestock.

Lehman said lethal removal for the Leadpoint pack was still under review on Wednesday.