This spring, twelve wolf pups were killed in Idaho, and hunters collected a combined $24,000 in reimbursements for those deaths, according to reporting by The Guardian. The money came through a program run by the Foundation for Wildlife Management, a group that pays back hunters and trappers for the costs of killing wolves.

The program offers a standard payment of $1,000 per wolf, and as much as $2,000 per wolf in areas it marks as priority zones, depending on documented costs. Eligible expenses go far beyond guns, ammunition and traps. Gas, cold-weather gear and even payments on a truck can count, as long as hunters turn in receipts along with state paperwork proving the kill.

Those payouts land on top of rules that already leave young wolves exposed. Under Idaho Fish and Game’s current wolf rules, wolves can be hunted all year long, including in spring, when newborn pups can’t survive without their parents. There is no daily or seasonal cap on how many wolves one hunter can take.

Pups dying in Idaho is not new. A 2020 analysis of state records found at least 35 pups among 570 wolves killed in a single year. Some were believed to be just four to six weeks old.

The Foundation for Wildlife Management has the power to end these payouts today. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission, which sets the state’s wolf rules, and Idaho lawmakers can make sure the state plays no part in paying people per wolf killed, and can put that money toward nonlethal tools that help ranchers protect their livestock instead.

Sign the petition to end cash rewards for killing Idaho’s wolves before another spring of pups is lost.