 |
| A new wolf pack in western Oregon |
The federal killer agency, Wildlife Services, exterminated four wolves of the Five Points Pack after complaints of predation by two public land permittees. The wolves, two adult females, one adult male and one juvenile female were killed in July and August. This pack numbered 12 in the winter count of January 2023. Livestock owners must use non-lethal methods to protect their livestock before a lethal permit is issued. This aggressive approach to wolf management by the state of Oregon and illegal poaching has kept the state's wolf population from significantly increasing since the management plan was implemented. The minimum number of wolves in Oregon at the end of 2022 was 178 only an increase of three over the previous year according to the annual report.
Wolves in Oregon are preying on livestock due to the shortage of natural prey and the abundance of livestock in wolf habitat. Despite the hardships wolves are slowly spreading in Western Oregon. Wolves remain federally protected east of the Cascades. (Hwys 97-395)
