Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has given a livestock owner permission to kill up to four wolves from the Lookout Mt Pack in a misguided attempt to stop livestock attacks. The permit allows the producer or their “agent” to kill up to four uncollared wolves in an area comprised of public and private lands; the uncollared members of the Lookout Mt Pack are two yearlings born in 2020 and seven pups born in 2021.

The permit expires on August 21, 2021 or when livestock are removed from the grazing area – whichever happens first. These next few weeks will prove to be deadly for the youngest members of the wolf family.

Killing Wolves Does Not Reduce Conflict

Science shows that killing a wolf can increase the risk that wolves will prey on livestock in the future. It is counterproductive and unsustainable. Additional research also suggests that killing of wolves can increase the risk to nearby farms, providing further evidence for the ineffectiveness of the so-called “lethal control” policy approach.

Wildlife managers across the West trap and kill wolves, cougars and coyotes and other predators, and lethal control has become more common for wolves in Oregon and Washington as their populations have grown. But many scientists contend there’s little good evidence for the effectiveness of those efforts.

Under Oregon’s Wolf Plan rules, livestock producers must be using and document non-lethal methods to deter wolves before lethal control can be considered. Also, there can be no identified circumstances on the property (such as bone piles or carcasses) that could be attracting wolves.

Wolves throughout Oregon were delisted from the state Endangered Species Act (ESA) on November 9, 2015. Wolves in the western portion of the state (west of Hwys 395-78-95) lost federal protections in January 2021. Wolves are now state-managed by ODFW.

There are an estimated 173 wolves living in Oregon.