Oregon's ban on killing wolves spurs nonlethal options

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Oregons-ban-on-killing-wolves-spurs-nonlethal-options-194516331.html?m=y&smobile=y


Oregon's ban on killing wolves spurs nonlethal options
Story Updated: Mar 2, 2013

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - As long as wolves have been making their comeback, biologists and ranchers have had a decidedly Old West option for dealing with those that develop a taste for beef: Shoot to kill. But for the past year, Oregon has been a "wolf-safe" zone, with ranchers turning to more modern, nonlethal ways to protect livestock.

While the number of wolves roaming the state has gone up, livestock kills haven't - and now conservation groups are hoping Oregon can serve as a model for other Western states working to return the predator to the wild.

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While ranchers are not happy with the wolf comeback, the wider public is. A 2011 survey for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife found 74.5 percent of Washington residents believe it acceptable for wolves to recolonize their state.

Wolf advocates hope the Oregon experiment can spread elsewhere, especially Idaho, which had 746 wolves in 2011. In 2012, hunters and wildlife agents killed 422 wolves, compared with 296 for 2011. Sheep and cattle kills, meantime, went up from 192 in 2011 to 341 in 2012.

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