Current Regulations
Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Under the current rules, you may:
- Harass a wolf without injuring it, and report this within 7 days.
- Kill or injure a wolf in the act of killing your livestock on private or tribal lands, and report it within 24 hours.
- Kill, injure or harass a wolf in the defense of human life, and report it within 24 hours.
Two Mexican wolves feeding on a cow.
Photo Courtesy of the Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team
Under the current rules, you may not:
- Kill a wolf in the act of injuring livestock on public lands.
- Kill a wolf feeding on dead livestock.
- Kill a wolf just because it is near your property.
- Kill a wolf in the act of injuring your pet.
- Enter official enclosures or rendezvous sites (where there is denning behavior).
- Shoot a wolf just because you thought it was a coyote or something else.
A wolf in the Hawk’s Nest pack approaches a stream in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in Arizona.
Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Wolves can contract rabies and then pass the disease to other animals and humans just like any species of mammal, but this has only rarely been documented. Still, people should always be cautious when traveling in wolf range. If you encounter a wolf, remain calm, stand tall, make a loud noise, and slowly back away.