Reward for Wolf Poachers

Credible but unverified reports of wolf poaching have come in around the Yellowstone border. The relaxed regulations in the zones surrounding Yellowstone have emboldened trophy hunters and has created an environment in which poaching is easier to conceal. Legal hunting leads to more illegal hunting. Studies have proven this to be the case. A recent paper published by Treves, et al. (2022), says that collectively, studies support the hypothesis that governments send a signal to would-be poachers that wolves are low in value, or that the government needs the support of poachers to control wolf populations (Chapron & Treves 2016a). For example, Idaho recently contributed to funds to pay bounties for dead wolves and in years past, the same agency defied federal regulations protecting wolves by announcing that they would no longer allow their own personnel to investigate reports of wolf poaching.

WWA has joined in an effort led by Wolves of the Rockies along with Trap Free Montana Public LandsThe 06 Legacy, and Wyoming Untrapped to offer a reward of $18,000.00 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals guilty of poaching wolves around or within Yellowstone National Park. An ad is running in the Gardiner paper for several weeks and all organizations have published information about the reward on their social media and websites.

If you have any information, please send an email to Wolves of the Rockies at info@wolvesoftherockies.org. Confidentiality will be assured.