State officials kill 2 wolf pups after killing 4 wolves OK’d

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife staff shot and killed two wolf pups Sunday after approving a permit for ranchers to kill up to four uncollared wolves in eastern Oregon.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the agency said staff in a helicopter shot and killed two pups from the Lookout Mountain pack.

The state agency said earlier it had approved a rancher’s permit to kill wolves in Baker County, where officials said the Lookout Mountain pack had attacked four cows during the last two weeks of July.

Agency spokesperson Michelle Dennehy says the pup killing was “reducing the pack’s food needs and disrupting the pack’s behavior so they don’t associate livestock with an easy meal.”