Cheers to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission for denying the morally bankrupt meat industry’s petition to indefinitely halt the state’s wolf reintroduction program.
As a result, 15 more wolves—translocated from the central interior of British Columbia to Colorado—were recently released in Eagle and Pitkin Counties, continuing efforts to create a permanent, self-sustaining gray wolf population in the state.
The agency also successfully relocated the Copper Creek female and four pups, who were part of original group of 10 wolves translocated from Oregon to Colorado in December 2023. Cattle and sheep ranchers accused them of multiple depredations, forcing the agency to capture and relocate them. CPW wildlife veterinarians evaluated the health of the female and the four pups while at the secure facility where they had been since late August 2024 and determined that they were in good condition. The pups were released with the female to ensure that they learn to hunt.
Relocation of the Copper Creek wolf family was unwarranted in the first place because the ranchers did not fully exhaust non-lethal management strategies. We’re sick of the meat industry crying wolf!
That’s why we submitted comments to CPW pressing the agency to reject the meat industry’s latest demands to derail the whole program.
“Gray wolves are a critical part of Colorado’s natural heritage, and it’s both legally and ethically unacceptable for the meat industry’s interests to override the state’s responsibility to protect and restore its native wildlife,” FoA said. “Wolves are complex, social beings with strong family binds, and the focus should be on nurturing their survival and restoring their rightful place in Colorado’s wild landscapes, not bending to cattle and sheep ranchers.”