Montana rancher shoots collared wolf after sheep slaughter

About 10 days ago, Gardiner rancher Bill Hoppe made a gruesome discovery - 18 of his sheep were slaughtered. He took pictures of the carnage, and federal investigators determined that two wolves were responsible. On Monday, he shot and killed a wolf that he believes killed the sheep. "I've been going down and checking, saw two and the other one made it off the property before I could shoot it," Hoppe said. The wolf was collared. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the wolf was from the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park. FWP officials say that Hoppe didn't break any laws, because he was issued a kill-on-site permit to kill two wolves after the loss of his sheep. Hoppe said he saw two other wolves with some cattle on his property north of Gardiner on Saturday night. "It's an ongoing problem, every night. I spend most of the night checking to make sure wolves ain't in my calves and the sheep," he said...more