New study raises questions about effectiveness of wolf hunting as a tool to help ranchers

As wolf populations have rebounded in parts of the Western U.S., states have approved hunting seasons to reduce their numbers and limit human-wildlife conflict.

One of the goals of controversial wolf hunts in the Western U.S. is to help reduce the burden on ranchers, who lose livestock to wolves every year. A new study finds that those hunts have had a measurable, but small effect on livestock depredations.

(Image credit: Raimund Linke)