Mexican Gray Wolf Lethally Removed from the Wild

SANTA FE (Sept. 15, 2017) – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced today that for the first time in over a decade, a Mexican gray wolf, or lobo, was lethally removed in Arizona due to conflicts with livestock.

Bryan Bird, Southwest program director for Defenders of Wildlife, issued the following statement:

“We strongly condemn the killing of this Mexican gray wolf. The lobo is the world’s most endangered subspecies of gray wolf, and there are too few in the wild for any to be removed. News of this wolf’s killing is particularly devastating since it has been over a decade since the last lobo was lethally removed from the wild for conflicts with livestock.

“Defenders of Wildlife works day in and day out with our partners to avoid these kinds of fatal removals through coexistence tools and strategies across the country and here in the Southwest. It is disappointing that no request for additional assistance was made to avoid this loss. We will continue to do our part to avoid any other removal.

“Wolves are part of our natural history, an important part of our landscape and here in the Southwest, an icon in our culture. Wolves need our support and tolerance to ensure their safe passage across the landscape.

“Going forward, we are committed to support local communities in sharing the landscape peacefully with wildlife. We stand ready to assist at any time with coexistence measures from range riders to fladry to ensure wolves in the wild are not killed. We implore those living and working in wolf country to reach out to Defenders of Wildlife and our partners early to implement proven coexistence practices.”