Shock discovery in Idaho: US Department of Agriculture killed 8 wolf pups that became school mascots
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himFor years, the students of Timberline High School in Boise, inIdaho, they observe a bunch of gray wolves who lives in a forest near the high school. A few months ago within the pack they were born 8 puppies, whose behavior the boys were studying and who had now become the institute's mascots.
However, when some biologists last spring noticed that the pack den was empty, they became suspicious, so they thought of going to look at an official list of dead wolves. And what they have recently discovered is nothing short of disconcerting: the pups were killed by the Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
As you can imagine, the students were shocked when they learned the news that it was about those "adopted" wolf pups.
I understand that many people think that wolves are dangerous animals - Michel Liao, a Timberline High student and member of the school's environmental club, told the Washington Post. - But it was so shocking to see that federal agents were the ones who entered a puppy's lair to kill them, even though the puppies did nothing.
Idaho is by no means a country for wolves
But how is it possible that the puppies were killed so lightly? Unfortunately, Idaho is one of the US states where wolves are most at risk, especially in recent times. Idaho Governor Brad Little passed a law last May that allowed hunters of kill 90% of the wolf population living in the state.
In August, animal rights and environmental groups asked the United States Department of Agriculture to immediately stop the killing of wolf pups on all public land. But the requests were not heeded. Finally, in early October, the USDA admitted in a letter that it had killed the 8 puppies, justifying itself in this way:
Experts working on our program have determined that culling young wolves encourages adult wolves to relocate, thereby reducing the overall number of kills required to protect livestock. After these control actions, there have been no further cattle looting in those places. "
But for Michel Liao and the other Timberline High School students this is not an acceptable answer. That's why he and his schoolmates decided to write a letter addressed to the president of the United States Joe Biden to urge him to put gray wolves back on the endangered species list, at least until Idaho institutions are able to deal with wolves without killing them.
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Fonti: The Washington Post/USDA
Read all our articles on wolves:
- Bill signed allowing the killing of 90% of wolves in this state
- Winsconsin hunters killed over 3 wolves, including pregnant females, in just 200 days
- In the US, gray wolves can be hunted or killed: after 45 years they are no longer a protected species
- Valle d'Aosta approves the anti-wolf bill authorizing the capture and killing of specimens considered dangerous
