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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Senate backs bill to export wolves

Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, tells the Senate why he proposed legislation to offer to give Idaho's wolves away to any state that wants them. If there are no takers, Schroeder said, that would add more legal weight to the state's argument that it needs to kill some wolves to protect livestock and big game herds. (Betsy Russell / The Spokesman-Review)
Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, tells the Senate why he proposed legislation to offer to give Idaho's wolves away to any state that wants them. If there are no takers, Schroeder said, that would add more legal weight to the state's argument that it needs to kill some wolves to protect livestock and big game herds. (Betsy Russell / The Spokesman-Review)

The Senate has voted 31-3 in favor of SB 1015, which would require the state Fish & Game Department to ask all other 49 states if they want any of Idaho's wolves. "The question is whether we need to kill wolves to protect livestock and big game herds, or whether there's an alternative," said Senate Resources Chairman Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow. "For legal, strategic purposes, we need to ask the question. ... When we're sued, we can point out that we did try and remove the animals and transfer them live to other states," he told the Senate. Only Sen. Les Bock, D-Boise, voted against the bill, which now moves to the House.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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