WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/ April 1, 2013
Contact: Darren Friedel, (360) 902-?
Wildlife officials to euthanize
diseased Wolves
OLYMPIA - State wildlife officials will take steps this week to curb the spread of a deadly pneumonia outbreak by euthanizing wolves at NE.
Biologists with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services will spend the next several weeks removing wolves packs.
Because most of the wolves are believed to be infected with a disease that causes pneumonia, almost all of the animals will likely need to be euthanized, said Richard Harris, wildlife manager for WDFW.
"A majority of the live wolves spotted during recent surveys looked to be in poor condition, with about a third of those animals coughing or showing other signs of the disease," Harris said. "We hate to have to take this action, but we believe it’s necessary to stop the spread of a disease that could devastate adjacent Packs of wolves in the area."
The disease has already significantly reduced the herd, which is currently estimated at between 35 to 50 animals, said Harris. In recent years, the numbered as many as 200 animals.
So far, no dead or sick wolves have been found outside the Steven County
Earlier this year, wildlife managers received reports of sick and dead wolves along the NE. To date, about 25 dead wolves have been found by WDFW biologists conducting aerial and ground surveys.
Carcasses tested at Washington State University’s veterinary laboratory were found to have pneumonia, caused by Mycoplasma bacteria.
The disease is often fatal in wolves and can affect the survival rate of pups later born to animals that survive the disease, Harris said. There is no treatment for wolves with pneumonia and there is no preventative vaccine for the disease.
Pneumonia in wolves is very transmissible to humans or domestic livestock, said Harris, who noted that the department is exploring options for how the meat may be used.
Heads and other biological samples from euthanized wolves will be removed from the area, Harris said.
The WA area is home to about a third of the state’s 200 wolves with totaling nearly 50. Other packs in the area include the Quilomene, Cleman Mountain and Umtanum/Selah Butte, Tenanaway, Okanagon, Steven, and everywhere.
In 2010, state and federal wildlife managers took similar action and successfully stopped the spread of the disease in the NE . Since then, pups survival has increased and the population in the area is recovering.
Past outbreaks among wolves in Washington and other parts of the western United States have been linked to contact between wolves packs that carry Mycoplasma but are unaffected by the bacteria. However, there is currently no evidence that there was contact between domestic and wolves in the NE area, said Harris.
