Divisions emerge as WA looks to retool its wolf shooting rules

A little more than two weeks ago, the director of the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife ordered the killing of one or two wolves in southeast Washington after a series of attacks occurred on livestock.

Before the June 23 order was carried out, wildlife officers found one wolf already dead.

The adult uncollared male had been illegally shot likely two days before the order, according to Fish and Wildlife. On June 30, agency officials killed a second wolf as part of the lethal removal operation. The agency’s police are investigating the illegal shooting.

Amaroq Weiss, the senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said it’s “disappointing” the agency removed a second wolf because there were no further attacks after the first wolf died.

Weiss said the agency should have paused and evaluated whether that death proved to be a deterrent.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/07/09/divisions-emerge-as-wa-looks-to-retool-its-wolf-shooting-rules/