Oct. 31–ROPER, N.C. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a $2,500 reward for a collared red wolf found shot to death Monday near Roper.
The wolf is the fifth killed by gunshot since January, according to a statement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Three others were struck by vehicles and another from a non-management related cause, according to the statement. Maximum penalties for illegally killing a red wolf are a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission authorized day or night coyote hunting in July. Environmental groups have filed suit against the state saying those who hunt coyotes are killing the slightly larger, endangered red wolves either by accident or on purpose. The state maintains shooting and trapping coyotes helps control an invasive species that kills livestock and carries disease.