"BOISE, Idaho -- It takes a lot to shock and sicken seasoned wildlife advocates, but the deliberate torture and shooting of a trapped wolf in northern Idaho by an employee of the U.S. Forest Service has. The incident in mid-March has triggered calls for both federal and state investigations leading to dismissal of the employee involved."

"The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity Tuesday sent letters to both the Forest Service and the Idaho Attorney General requesting investigations into the actions of Forest Service employee Josh Bransford, who posted online photos of a wolf he had trapped that was then non-fatally shot by people who saw the animal from a nearby road.

'A year ago, that wolf was protected as a member of an endangered species, but last month he was trapped, tortured and killed thanks to an underhanded congressional rider that's also responsible for the deaths of hundreds of other wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains,' said the Center's Michael Robinson."

Environment News Service had the story April 4, 2012. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Missoula-Based Group Gets Threat Over Post on Idaho Wolf Trapper" (Helena Independent Record) [3]

Opinion: "Landers: Hunters Must Protect Their Image" (Spokane Spokesman-Review) [4]

Photo of trapped wolf (ENS) [5]

"Conservation Groups Ask for Investigation Into Photo of Trapped Wolf" (Great Falls Tribune) [6]