Hunter groups support Oregon order to shoot wolves

By Associated Press Published: Nov 8, 2011 at 12:08 PM PDT Last Updated: Nov 8, 2011 at 7:35 PM PDT
Hunter groups support Oregon order to shoot wolves
This trail camera photo provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shows two wolves from the Imnaha pack on June 22, 2011 on the Wallowa Whitman National Forest in Wallowa County. The wolf on the left is a 2-year-old male, and the wolf in the center is the alpha female. A state wildlife official said that the pack may not survive an order to kill two of its members for attacks on livestock, but the restoration of wolves in Oregon in general is progressing. (AP Photo/Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Three hunting groups are supporting the state of Oregon in a lawsuit trying to overturn state authority to shoot wolves that attack livestock.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Oregon Hunters Association, and the Oregon chapter of the North American Wild Sheep Foundation have all asked the Oregon Court of Appeals to allow them to file friend of the court briefs supporting the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Conservation groups are trying to overturn a department order to kill two wolves from the Imnaha pack that have been blamed for livestock attacks in northeastern Oregon.

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation says in a statement that elk herds are struggling to survive in places wolves have been reintroduced.

Conservation groups counter climate change and habitat are more likely causes than wolves.

 

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.