American wildlife officials have culled a pack of Canadian wolves that has been preying on cattle along the B.C.-Washington border near Grand Forks.
The grey wolves, known as the Wedge Pack, have been held responsible for taking as many as 40 head of livestock near Steves County, WA. As a result, American state officials recently culled six of the wolves, effectively wiping out the pack.
“This is a cattle-killing pack of wolves and total elimination is the only answer,” said rancher Len McIrvin.
The B.C government was informed of the plans for a cull, and offered no objections, even though Environment Minister Terry Lake said the situation may have been dealt with differently in B.C. He said the province’s conservation officers may have worked with local predator control communities to find an alternative to killing the wolf pack.
“Obviously wolves are a tremendous problem for cattle ranchers both in Washington State and in British Columbia,” he said. “I’ve heard from ranchers around the province that this year is worse than ever, that many calves are being killed by wolves and the problem isn’t getting any better.”
With files from CTV British Columbia’s Kent Molgat
