Last week the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife put in place an emergency rule that allows livestock and animal owners in eastern Washington to kill a wolf that is attacking their animals. Without the emergency rule, animal owners had to obtain a “caught in the act” permit from the WDFW before lethally removing (killing) a wolf.

The emergency rule followed a written request from a bi-partisan group of legislators who asked the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission to use their rulemaking authority to address the problems experienced by people in communities which are most affected by the wolf recovery program. The WDFW acknowledges that the wolf population is increasing rapidly in Washington State. They estimate there are at least 10 packs of wolves active in the state and estimate about 50 to 100 animals. Most of the packs are in Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Pend Oreille counties. There are also packs in Canada whose members range into these northern counties.

Washington Wildlife Commission Chair Miranda Wecker reaffirmed the commitment of the Wildlife Commission to the goal of gray wolf recovery but acknowledged that by passing the rule, the Wildlife Commission is trying to address the legitimate need of residents to protect their domestic animals.

The rule allows farmers, ranchers, and domestic animal owners, including their employees or agents to kill one wolf if it is attacking their animals under certain conditions.
• The rule applies only in the eastern third of the state, designated in the state Wolf Conservation and Management Plan as the Eastern Washington Recovery Region.
• The rule allows the owner of a domestic animal to kill only one wolf, for the duration of the regulation.
• The lethal removal must be reported to WDFW within 24 hours, and the carcass must be provided to the department.
• The owner of the domestic animal that was attacked must grant access or help the department gain access to the property where the wolf was killed to enable investigation and data collection.
• Anyone who kills a wolf that was not attacking a domestic animal as spelled out in the rule will be subject to criminal prosecution for the illegal taking of endangered wildlife.