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WHY! 😢 😡 BREAKING: A permit has been issued allowing an endangered Wolf to be killed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a controversial lethal permit allowing ranchers in Catron County, New Mexico to shoot a Mexican Grey Wolf if one is encountered attacking livestock. This is not just any Wolf. The Mexican Grey Wolf is the rarest Wolf subspecies in North America and one of the most endangered Wolves on Earth. By the late 1970s the species had been virtually wiped out, and the entire recovery program started from just seven remaining Wolves captured for breeding. Today, after decades of conservation work, the wild population is still incredibly fragile. Recent estimates put the number at around 257 Wolves in the United States, primarily in Arizona and New Mexico, with roughly 45–50 more in Mexico. That means the entire wild population is barely around 300 animals worldwide. Every Wolf in the population matters ~ genetically and socially. Packs rely on breeding pairs to raise pups, and the loss of even one Wolf can destabilise an entire family group. Conservation groups say this permit is particularly troubling because it does not identify a specific problem Wolf. Instead, it allows the killing of any Wolf encountered under the permit conditions, meaning a breeding animal or genetically valuable individual could be lost. For a population that took over 40 years of recovery efforts to reach just a few hundred animals, the loss of even a single Wolf can set conservation back. The Mexican Grey Wolf is still listed as endangered, and many scientists say the population is not yet secure or genetically healthy enough to withstand additional human-caused deaths. Which is why many people are asking a difficult question tonight: How can a species still fighting for survival be given a permit to be killed at all? #mexicanwolf #greywolf #NewMexico #wolf #wolves #wolfconservation #wildlifeconservation #AnimalNews Credit: Animal Watch 🐺.