Idaho Senate OKs bill to kill up to 90% of wolves in state

Idaho Senate OKs bill to kill up to 90% of wolves in state

SeattlePI.com

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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Senate on Wednesday approved legislation allowing the state to hire private contractors to kill up to 90% of the wolves roaming Idaho.

The agriculture industry-backed bill approved Wednesday on 26-7 vote includes additional changes intended to cut the wolf population from about 1,500 to 150.

“These wolves, there’s too many in the state of Idaho now,” said Republican Sen. Mark Harris, one of the bill's sponsors, during debate on the Senate floor. “We’re supposed to have 15 packs, 150 wolves. We’re up to 1,553, was the last count, 1,556, something like that. They’re destroying ranchers. They’re destroying wildlife. This is a needed bill.”

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game reported in February that the wolf population has been holding at about 1,500 the past two years. The numbers were derived by using remote cameras and other methods.

About 500 wolves have been killed in the state in each of the last two years by hunters, trappers and wolf-control measures carried out by state and federal authorities.

Republican Sen. Van Burtenshaw, another of the bill's sponsors, downplayed the number of wolves to be killed while debating the bill.

“The purpose of this legislation is to control the population, not to wipe them out,” he said. “There’s never been any discussion in the working group of complete annihilation of the wolf population, or killing 90% of the wolves.”

However, Burtenshaw the previous day at a committee hearing for the bill cited numbers contained in Idaho’s 2002 wolf conservation and management plan. The plan calls for at least 150 wolves and 15 packs in Idaho. He said the state is allowed to increase the killing of wolves to reach that level. If the wolf population falls below 150, the killing...

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