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Hi John,
Just before the end of last year, officials reported the illegal killing of a male gray wolf near Klamath Falls, Oregon.
It marked the fifth known wolf-poaching in Oregon in 2022.
These illegal killings are devastating gray wolves, and we're doing all we can to stop them.
Please support our work with a donation to the Saving Life on Earth Fund.
The Center for Biological Diversity is contributing to a reward for information about the killing of the wolf known as OR-103.
His life is a testament to the hardships wolves face from human interference.
In 2021 OR-103 was accidentally caught in a federal Wildlife Services trap intended for coyotes. After he was radio-collared and released, he had a severe paw injury.
He roamed to California, then returned to Oregon last summer. Unable to successfully hunt wild prey because of his hurt paw, he resorted to preying on livestock. OR-103 was discovered killed in October, and law enforcement announced his death and an ongoing investigation in December.
It's not just poachers. Fourteen wolves have been killed in the past two years by state officials or under agency kill orders over livestock conflicts. And last week the state gave the green light to kill two wolves in a new pack.
At last count only 175 wolves live in Oregon, mostly in the state's northeast. Poaching occurs statewide, though it's concentrated in that area, and since 2017 four wolves, including OR-103, have been illegally killed in southwestern Oregon.
The killers of these animals must be brought to justice.
In western Oregon wolves have federal protection, while in the east they don't.
Science shows that removing protections from wolves leads to more illegal killing. For every illegally slain wolf found, another one to two wolves have been killed who will remain undiscovered.
Wolves can't recover if poisonings and shootings take place with impunity.
Each wolf-killing is heartbreaking. We need you with us to help keep wolves safe.
Please give today to the Saving Life on Earth Fund.
For the wild,
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