Groups want court to end capture, killing of red wolves

The Associated Press Published: June 21, 2016

FILE - In this file photo taken Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, a male red wolf enjoys a feeding in it's habitat at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C. A lawsuit filed Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, argues that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the Endangered Species Act when it gave landowners permission on two occasions to kill wolves without meeting strict legal requirements. It asks a judge to force the service to stop such incomplete kill approvals and to perform a past-due review of the wolves' endangered status. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Three conservation groups have asked a federal court to halt the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service practice of capturing and killing red wolves in eastern North Carolina, and to end the authorization of landowners to do the same thing.

The request was filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of the groups, which were represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Federal officials have been studying the recovery program with an eye toward making changes or possibly ending it. SELC senior attorney Sierra Weaver said the groups worry that there won’t be a population left if the captures and killings continue.

It’s estimated that the population of red wolves roaming eastern North Carolina has dwindled to between about 50 and 75. It was near 100 for more than a decade.

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