COTW: Wolf Slaughter in West Escalates

This chart [source: The Wildlife News.com] shows the obscene slaughter that is taking place in the Rocky Mountain West as irresponsible state governments persecute the grey wolf now that it has no federal protection from the Endangered Species Act:

Idaho seems particularly bent on total wolf destruction. Its share of the slaughter is seen in the dark purple ban which represents wolves trapped in Idaho and the orange ban represents wolves hunted in Idaho. Montana is also prominently contributing to wolf kills with the blue and light blue bans presenting trapping and hunting in that state. A Ohio State ecologist has publicly stated that the state's wolf policy is headed in the direction of near extirpation leaving only a token population sufficient to discourage federal intervention. He sees Idaho's so-called management policy being driven by a narrow interest group, elk trophy hunters, despite public support for wolf conservation. Since grey wolves were stripped of their federal protection in a political deal the Idaho population has declined by 30%. The state allows arrogant public wolf shooting contests, hired a professional killer to destroy two wolf pacts deep in federal designated wilderness (Frank Church-River of No Return) and authorized shooting wolves from helicopters. This extreme animas against wolves has been noted elsewhere in the US and abroad. The killing derby, which environmentalists failed to stop in court, shows just how twisted some Idahoans are about wolves. They see them as despicable, rabid vermin, not the ecologically beneficial predator they actually are. 464 grey wolves were killed in Idaho in 2013 according to state records. All this "dark ages" slaughter is going on at the time of the fortieth anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.  Under prevailing legal doctrine a state is supposed to manage wildlife for all of a state's citizens. If only one small segment of that population wants wolf extermination a state government is bound not to let that ignorant view to control public policy.