courtesy of Capital Press
by Mateusz Perkowski
Environmental groups have failed to convince a federal judge to prohibit the USDA’s Wildlife Services Division from killing wolves in Idaho.
The Wolf Recovery Foundation and the Western Watersheds Project filed a lawsuit in 2009, claiming Wildlife Services agents had unlawfully shot several wolves from a helicopter near Stanley, Idaho.
The division, part of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, is charged with controlling predator populations to reduce livestock predation and other conflicts with humans.
According to plaintiffs, hundreds of wolves had been “unnecessarily exterminated or dispersed” by Wildlife Services agents in recent years.
The complaint claimed that USDA had violated the National Environmental Policy Act by not conducting an environmental analysis of the activities.
“APHIS Wildlife Services seeks to avoid public disclosure, scrutiny or accountability for its actions,” the complaint said.
Teklanika Nature Photography 