In spite of the fact that two recent court decisions have restored the ‘endangered’ status to gray wolves in all states except Alaska and Minnesota, government agencies are seeking comprehensive new authority to ramp up killings and removals of these wolves in the Northern Rockies and Great Lakes.

The proposals that have been put forth by the government agencies include choking the pups in their dens; surgical sterilization of adult wolves; and the permission for “conservation” or “research” hunts to bring down the numbers of these predators.

The gray wolves, which had been, at one time, poisoned to near-extinction in the lower 48 states, made a remarkable comeback over the last twenty years under protection of the Endangered Species Act.

There are currently at least 1,700 wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming; and over 4,000 in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In addition, new populations are increasing in Oregon and Washington; and wolves have been sighted in Colorado, New England, and Utah.

The increase of the wolf packs has multiplied their taste for livestock, and big game herds are being increasingly coveted by hunters; thereby have been calls for their removal.

With wildlife officials noting that they require more leeway to eliminate the problematic packs of gray wolves, Mark Collinge, Idaho director for Wildlife Services, said: “As the wolf populations increase, the depredations increase and the number of wolf removals will increase. It's very logical. You just have to accept that part of having wolves is having to kill wolves.”