Experts warn against permitted killing of Mexican wolves

On Feb. 24, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service released a now-expired document authorizing designated individuals in Catron county to kill a Mexican wolf on private land or “in the act of biting, killing, or wounding livestock on Federal land.” Some experts warn the permitted killings fail to save cattle and could threaten the endangered species. 

The permit’s duration spanned from Feb. 19 through April 4, or until a wolf was taken, stating that it be done “as quickly and humanely as possible.” No wolves were reported to have been killed under the permit, according to New Mexico Conservation Lead for WildEarth Guardians Leia Barnett. 

Senior Conservation Advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity and author of the book “Predatory Bureaucracy” Michael Robinson said persecution of the Mexican grey wolf by the federal government has historically occurred on behalf of the livestock industry. 

“Primarily, it’s been through direct shooting by government officials,” Robinson said. “(Mexican grey wolves) came to the point of near extinction not just because of inadequate protections, but because of deliberate persecution by the U.S. government.”

In 1915, Congress appropriated funding to hire hundreds of wolf trappers, hunters and poisoners as full-time salaried employees to exterminate Mexican grey wolves and other predators on behalf of the livestock industry, Robinson said. 

Appropriations continued for every year thereafter, and Mexican grey wolf populations in the western United States declined to the point that by the 1930s there were no wild breeding couples in the Southwest, Robinson said. 

In 1945, the last likely U.S.-born wolf in the western United States was killed in southern Colorado, Robinson said. Five years later, USFWS sent salaried personnel and poison to Mexico to show officials there how to exterminate wolves, according to the Wolf Conservation Center. 

“It was in order to prevent wolves from coming up from Mexico into the United States,” Robinson said. “It was also to benefit U.S. citizens who owned extensive land and livestock holdings in Mexico.”

After Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, it was no longer policy to exterminate animals that were seen as adverse to human interests, and there were seven wolves in captivity, three of which were brought from Mexico whose descendants were bred in captivity, preventing extinction and enabling reintroduction beginning in 1998.

“The fact that we have wildlife now came about specifically because people saw the consequences of no regulation and the general societal ethos of not being concerned for the future and for wildlife persistence,” Robinson said. 

Barnett said that issuing “lethal take” permits are ultimately not a solution to wolves preying upon livestock, and criticized the permit’s policies.

“Why does it make sense that once any wolf has been killed, that’s somehow going to solve the problem when they don’t actually know which wolf it is that’s depredating?” Barnett said. “There has been a lot of research that demonstrates that when you kill a wolf, you can destabilize the pack and actually lead to more depredations, so what we really need to see more of is meaningful coexistence measures taken by the livestock industry to coexist with native carnivores.” 

Barnett said she thinks lethal removal should not be used as a management tool for an endangered species, but that because Mexican grey wolves are listed under the 10-J rule under the Endangered Species Act, agencies are allowed to conduct lethal management.

“The agencies want to retain the ability to kill native carnivores in the event that the livestock industry is claiming that they’re dealing with depredations,” Barnett said. “It’s basically entirely a tool to be used in service of cattle.”

In a statement to the Daily Lobo, USFWS Mexican Wolf Public Affairs Specialist Aislinn Maestas wrote that there are currently no active lethal removal permits for Mexican wolves. 

“In accordance with our regulations and recovery permit, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can issue permits allowing for the lethal removal of Mexican wolves to address chronic livestock depredations,” the statement reads. 

In a statement to the Daily Lobo, New Mexico Wild Communications Manager Shaya Torres wrote that since March 16, their organization has gathered 755 public comments urging federal officials to “prioritize science-based, nonlethal conflict-prevention strategies.” 

Today, the Mexican grey wolf population has increased to around 300. Despite their increased numbers, Robinson said Mexican grey wolf populations have experienced a loss of genetic diversity, which has adverse symptoms including shorter life spans, low reproductive success, illness and birth defects, threatening their survival. 

“Loss of genetic diversity is a one-way ratchet towards extinction, unless it can be reversed,” Robinson said.

He said reversal would require that captive Mexican grey wolves are successfully released, and allowed to mate with northern gray wolves in the wild.

Last August, a 3-month-old female pup was shot from the air after the USFWS authorized U.S. Department of Agriculture personnel to lethally remove one wolf at Dillon Mountain in eastern New Mexico, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

“We made a profound mistake as a society in dedicating so much resources and government to deliberately exterminating (wolves), and putting them back is a way to right an old wrong,” Robinson said. “They’re beautiful animals, they’re social animals, they’re intelligent animals and we should appreciate them for all they are.”

Leila Chapa is the social media and photo editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06

Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88

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