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20 wolves killed in northern Idaho to boost elk population

Published  February 11, 2016 7:16am PST
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says 20 wolves have been killed in the Clearwater Region in northern Idaho to bolster elk populations in the area.

The agency in a statement Wednesday says the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services killed the wolves using a helicopter starting last week, and the wolf-control action has ended.

Defenders of Wildlife revealed the aerial shooting of wolves last week and decried it as based on anti-wolf politics and not sound science.

An Idaho board in charge of killing wolves declined on Monday to tell lawmakers how many wolves it had killed in 2016 or how much it cost.

Officials say they didn't want to provide details while the wolf-control program was operating in northern Idaho.