The carcasses of three wolves were found together off a northern Minnesota highway in what conservation officials are treating as a case of poaching, federal authorities said Thursday.
The three were discovered last month just off Hwy. 8 near Floodwood, about 35 miles southeast of Grand Rapids, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
The gray wolf is currently listed by the federal government as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, meaning they cannot be hunted except in defense of human life. A conviction for each violation could result in up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.
Undisclosed evidence has been collected at the scene, the federal agency said in a statement announcing a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
The carcasses were sent to the USFWS’s national forensics lab in Ashland, Ore., the country’s lone crime lab for animals, said agency spokeswoman Tina Shaw.
Shaw said her agency is working with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on the case. Anyone with information about this case is urged to call the DNR’s Turn in Poachers (TIP) line at 1-800-652-9093.
“We really do depend on the DNR tip line,” Shaw said.
Six decades ago, Minnesota’s wolf population fell to a record low of 750. However, the most recent count by the DNR put the number at upward of 2,400.
A judge’s ruling in late 2014 reinstated Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan and placed the animals under protection of the USFWS. They had been removed in January 2012 from the endangered species list, which briefly allowed for hunting seasons.
Source: 3 dead wolves found together in northern Minnesota; poaching suspected – StarTribune.com