There are only 35 red wolves left—why does Zinke want to let people shoot them?
Credit: Valerie/Flickr
The red wolf, already on the brink of extinction, faced another blow this week when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a plan that would allow people to kill any wolves that stray onto their property. Only when inside the boundaries of North Carolina’s Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and Dare County Bombing Range would the roughly 35 red wolves in the area be protected. Outside the refuge, they would be considered a “nonessential experimental population,” since the red wolves at Alligator River are the last remaining individuals from a reintroduction effort. The last thing this species needs is more lax hunting rules.
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