Republicans in the West want more wolves killed
In the battle between farmers and conservationists, canis lupus is losing
In 1915, with war waging in Europe, America’s Congress had a different conflict in mind. That year it appropriated $125,000 (equivalent to $4m now) for the purpose of “destroying wolves, coyotes, and other animals injurious to agriculture”. By the 1930s there were essentially no wolves in the western United States (some survived in the upper Midwest). It was not until the 1990s that a few—at first imported from Canada—were reintroduced. Around 2,600 now roam between Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Some would like to wipe them out again.
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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “What big quotas!”
From the October 4th 2025 edition
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