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Officials Halt Wolf-Killings In NE Washington

<p>The Idaho Wolf Depredation Control Board killed 72 wolves in 2015.</p>

John and Karen Hollingsworth

The Idaho Wolf Depredation Control Board killed 72 wolves in 2015.

Washington wildlife officials have halted their efforts to kill wolves after shooting two members of a pack that had been preying on livestock in the state’s northeastern corner.

The state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife says it suspended the campaign to kill members of the Profanity Peak Pack Thursday. The decision comes after wildlife officials shot and killed two members of the wolf pack from a helicopter on Aug. 5.

The state had determined earlier that members of the pack had killed at least one cow and three calves on the rangelands between Republic and Kettle Falls.

Officials say there have been no confirmed reports that wolves in the Profanity Peak have attacked livestock since the helicopter shooting.

The Fish and Wildlife agency is continuing to track two pack members’ movements by using GPS signals from their radio collars.

The cattle killed by members of the Profanity Peak belonged to two ranchers. The state agency said in a press release the two ranchers had taken preventive actions to deter attacks by wolves; that both have range riders keeping watch over their herds and sanitation measures in place to avoid attracting wolves and that one rancher also turned his calves out to pasture at a higher weight as a defense against predators.

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