Editing Red wolf (section)

===Contested killing of re-introduced red wolves===
High wolf mortality related to [[Anthropogenic hazard|anthropogenic]] causes appeared to be the main factor limiting wolf dispersal westward from the RWEPA.<ref name=Justins2016_07>{{cite journal |title=Describing a developing hybrid zone between red wolves and coyotes in eastern North Carolina, USA |author1=Bohling, Justin H. |author2=Dellinger, Justin |author3=McVey, Justin M. |author4=Cobb, David T. |author5=Moorman, Christopher E. |author6=Waits, Lisette P. |name-list-style=amp |journal=Evolutionary Applications |date=July 2016 |volume=9 |issue=6 |pages=791–804 |doi=10.1111/eva.12388 |pmid=27330555 |pmc=4908465 |bibcode=2016EvApp...9..791B }}</ref> High anthropogenic wolf mortality similarly limits expansion of eastern wolves outside of protected areas in south-eastern Canada.<ref>{{cite journal |title=A protected area influences genotype specific survival and the structure of a ''Canis'' hybrid zone |author=Benson, J. |author2=B. Patterson |author3=P. Mahoney |name-list-style=amp |date=2014 |journal=Ecology |volume=95 |issue=2 |pages=254–264 |doi=10.1890/13-0698.1 |pmid=24669720|bibcode=2014Ecol...95..254B }}</ref>

In 2012, the [[Southern Environmental Law Center]] filed a lawsuit against the [[North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission]] for jeopardizing the existence of the wild red wolf population by allowing nighttime hunting of coyotes in the five-county restoration area in eastern North Carolina.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Protection of Red Wolves |publisher=Animal Welfare Institute |url=https://awionline.org/cases/protection-red-wolves |website=awionline.org |access-date=2015-12-26}}</ref> A 2014 court-approved settlement agreement was reached that banned nighttime hunting of coyotes and requires permitting and reporting coyote hunting.<ref name=":2" /> In response to the settlement, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission adopted a resolution requesting the USFWS to remove all wild red wolves from private lands, terminate recovery efforts, and declare red wolves extinct in the wild.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission |title=[no title cited] |series=News Article |url=http://www.ncwildlife.org/Default.aspx?tabid=416&IndexId=10015 |website=www.ncwildlife.org |access-date=2015-12-26}}</ref> This resolution came in the wake of a 2014 programmatic review of the red wolf conservation program conducted by The Wildlife Management Institute.<ref>{{cite web |title=WMI to Coordinate Comprehensive Review and Evaluation of the Red Wolf Recovery Program |url=https://www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=767:wmi-to-coordinate-review-and-evaluation-of-red-wolf-recovery-program&catid=34:ONB%2520Articles&Itemid=54 |publisher=Wildlife Management Institute |website=www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org |access-date=2015-12-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122164728/https://www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=767:wmi-to-coordinate-review-and-evaluation-of-red-wolf-recovery-program&catid=34:ONB%2520Articles&Itemid=54 |archive-date=2016-01-22 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://awionline.org/sites/default/files/press-release/AWI-WL-ResolutionUSFWSRedWolfExtinct-01302015.pdf |title=Resolution Requesting that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Declare the Red Wolf (''Canis rufus'') Extinct in the Wild and Terminate the Red Wolf Reintroduction Program in Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell, and Washington Counties, North Carolina |date=January 29, 2015}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Red Wolf Recovery Program |website=www.fws.gov |url=http://www.fws.gov/redwolf/evaluation.html |access-date=2015-12-26 |archive-date=2015-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124001749/http://www.fws.gov/redwolf/evaluation.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Wildlife Management Institute indicated the reintroduction of the red wolf was an incredible achievement. The report indicated that red wolves could be released and survive in the wild, but that illegal killing of red wolves threatens the long-term persistence of the population.<ref name=":3"/> The report stated that the USFWS needed to update its red wolf recovery plan, thoroughly evaluate its strategy for preventing coyote hybridization and increase its public outreach.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wildlife Management Institute Releases New Report on Red Wolf Recovery Program |url=http://www.defenders.org/press-release/wildlife-management-institute-releases-new-report-red-wolf-recovery-program |publisher=Defenders of Wildlife |access-date=2015-12-26 |date=2014-11-20 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222180138/http://www.defenders.org/press-release/wildlife-management-institute-releases-new-report-red-wolf-recovery-program}}</ref>

In 2014, the USFWS issued the first take permit for a red wolf to a private landowner.<ref>{{Cite web |title=USFWS Grants Landowner Permit to Kill Critically Endangered Red Wolf |publisher=Wolf Conservation Center |url=http://nywolf.org/home?p=9297 |website=nywolf.org |access-date=2015-12-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911235807/http://nywolf.org/home?p=9297 |archive-date=2015-09-11}}</ref> Since then, the USFWS issued several other take permits to landowners in the five-county restoration area. During June&nbsp;2015, a landowner shot and killed a female red wolf after being authorized a take permit, causing a public outcry.<ref>{{cite news |title=How management rule allows certain red wolf killings |newspaper=News Observer |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article35484480.html |department=Editorial |access-date=2015-12-26 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Sierra |last=Weaver |title=No defense for death of red wolf |newspaper=News Observer |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article36851709.html |department=Editorial |access-date=2015-12-26 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In response, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit against the USFWS for violating the Endangered Species Act.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. Fish and Wildlife faces lawsuit over red wolf program |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article44780244.html |newspaper=News Observer |department=Editorial |access-date=2015-12-26 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

By 2016, the red wolf population of North Carolina had declined to 45–60&nbsp;wolves. The largest cause of this decline was gunshot.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Survival and population size estimates of the red wolf |journal=The Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=81 |issue=3 |pages=417 |year=2017 |last1=Hinton|first1=Joseph W. |last2=White |first2=Gary C. |last3=Rabon |first3=David R. |last4=Chamberlain |first4=Michael J. |doi=10.1002/jwmg.21206|bibcode=2017JWMan..81..417H }}</ref>

In June 2018, the USFWS announced a proposal that would limit the wolves' safe range to only Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, where only about 35&nbsp;wolves remain, thus allowing hunting on private land.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Fish and Wildlife to allow open hunting of endangered wild red wolves in Southeast |first=Bo |last=Petersen |date=27 June 2018 |orig-year=Updated 14 Sep 2020 |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/news/fish-and-wildlife-to-allow-open-hunting-of-endangered-wild/article_2298d96e-7a11-11e8-96bd-b3434a1b6db8.html |newspaper=Post and Courier |access-date=2018-06-29 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2018/06/service-proposes-new-management-rule-for-non-essential-experimental-population-of-red-wolves-in-north-carolina/ |title=Service proposes new management rule for non-essential, experimental population of red wolves in North Carolina |publisher=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |website=www.fws.gov |language=en-US |access-date=2018-06-29 |archive-date=2018-06-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628232737/https://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2018/06/service-proposes-new-management-rule-for-non-essential-experimental-population-of-red-wolves-in-north-carolina/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In November&nbsp;2018, Chief Judge [[Terrence W. Boyle]] found that the USFWS had violated its congressional mandate to protect the red wolf, and ruled that USFWS had no power to give landowners the right to shoot them.<ref name=fears2018/>