Prevent the Execution of Endangered Wolves!
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has killed two wolves from the Smackout pack and has authorized further lethal action. Wolves were once numerous in Washington state but were killed off by ranchers and farmers. There are just eight breeding pairs of these endangered apex predators in the entire state of Washington. We must act urgently to take the Smackout pack out of the crosshairs!
The Smackout pack has fewer than eight members. It has been blamed for five “depredations” of calves since September 2016. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has argued that these depredations prove that non-lethal methods of deterring wolves from attacking animals being grazed on both public lands as well as within private fenced lots are not working, and hope that killing wolves will deter further depredations. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has already killed two wolves from the Smackout pack and intends to kill more if the weakened pack targets cows again.
The ranchers who blamed animal losses on the Smackout pack are often grazing on public land, not privately owned land! Four of the five incidents happened on public property! Our public lands should be places where wild animals can thrive, not places where they can be killed at the behest of farmers and ranchers.
Killing predators to deter attacks on cows and sheep is not just cruel and unethical, it does not work. A study published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, a journal of the Ecological Society of America, found that non-lethal methods were more effective than lethal methods in deterring predation on farmed animals. Additionally, the study found that some types of lethal methods, including government killing, were actually followed by an increase in predation on farmed animals. It is clear that The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s slaughter of wolves in the name of protecting farmed animals is not only immoral, but also profoundly misguided.
Currently, the WDFW’s plan to deal with the Smackout wolf pack is in an “evaluation period.” If the department finds that its wolf killing has not worked and the Smackout pack has killed more farmed animals, it may continue to keep killing wolves.
Join us in telling Jim Unsworth, Director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, to cease the senseless persecution of Washington’s wolves!
1.) Call Director Unsworth’s office to let him know you oppose further lethal action against the Smackout Wolf Pack:
(360) 902-2200
You can simply say:
I am writing to you on behalf of Protect The Wolves™, a Native American organization with over 56,000 supporters, to urge you to cease lethal action against the Smackout wolf pack. Washington is supposed to be a leader in non-lethal wildlife conflict management Wild animals should not be killed on our public lands to serve the interests of a handful of ranchers. Predators are an important part of an intact and healthy ecosystem and show the health of Washington’s wildlife. They should not be removed from the land for expressing natural behaviors.
WDFW did not seek Native Nor public input on their socalled “New” Lethal removal protocol, has refused to contact the BIA on scheduling an IWC meeting for over a YEAR. Has Numerous Special Interest Groups on rheir Wolf Advisory Group, which violates the mandates under the Indian and Public Trusts.
A recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, a publication of The Ecological Society of America, found that not only were non-lethal methods of deterring predation on ranched animals more effective than lethal ones, but lethal methods, including government killing, could be followed by increased depredations. It is wrongheaded to continue down the path of lethal action against the Smackout pack following your current evaluation of the removals that have already taken place.
As you consider the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s next steps in dealing with the Smackout wolf pack, please consider both the recent evidence that lethal actions are often ineffective, along with what sort of place wild animals should have on our public lands. WDFW has proven Dr. Wielgus’s Research to be correct. that lethal removal 1 year, leads to more Depredations the next.
It is wrong to prioritize commercial grazing operations over the wild animals who call our public lands home. Predators serve an important ecological role and should be protected, especially on our public lands.
2.) Sign our letter letting Director Jim Unsworth know that you do not want to see any other members of the Smackout wolf pack killed.
- Jim Unsworth – Director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife