With Idaho’s first sanctioned wolf hunt set to close this week, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is touting its success in overseeing the hunt that made national headlines.
“Fish and Game is capable of monitoring and managing a well-regulated wolf hunt," Fish and Game Director Cal Groen said in a news release. "The season has succeeded in halting the growth of Idaho's wolf population." Groen said hunters complied with the rules and reporting requirements of the hunt, and that there wasn’t a wholesale slaughter of wolves. So far, hunters have killed 185 wolves. The hunt ends on Wednesday, March 31 and has a statewide limit of 220 wolves.
An IDFG news release said that most wolves were shot in October and the fewest in January. At the end of 2009, Idaho had at least 843 wolves, according to IDFG. In addition to the wolf hunt, 138 wolves were killed due to livestock depredation and other causes.
