SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Wildlife officials said wolf pups were just a few weeks old when poachers took them from their den in Idaho and killed them.
A media outlet reported that authorities have released few details about the poaching at the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, which is believed to have occurred during the week of May 16. The den was near a heavily used recreation area.
Defenders of Wildlife regional representative Suzanne Asha Stone said that while it is illegal to hunt the pups on public land, there is a year-round hunting season on some private land with no age limits. Her organization has lobbied for changes to protect pups.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says those regulations help landowners address wolf-livestock conflicts and wolves that get habituated to people.
