Hunting season on wolves should be expanded

The wolves were yearlings that killed 29 domestic animals in five separate incidents between April and August. This was surprising to folks who didn’t realize wolves would do that, but ranchers knew how it might happen. Biologists tried everything to protect livestock and discourage these wolves. They attached a radio collar to one of the predators so it could be monitored. Then, they installed flagged fencing called “fladry,” which is said to be a wolf deterrent. A radio-activated-guard box was used to make noises when a wolf’s collar approached. Biologists tried double-penning livestock, keeping animals near homes at night and burying carcasses. Even using guard dogs didn’t seem to help. Finally, they decided to shoot the wolves from airplanes and that seemed to work best. It would have been much less expensive if they had shot the wolves in the first place – instead of placing a collar on one...ColumbiaBasinFarmer