Nebraska wolf policy?

Question

my grandpa and i have spotted a pack of 3 wolves in the southwestern part of nebraska where he was a few hundred acres of land...his neighbors have been telling him of huge dog prints theyve been seeing in their pastures and nobody around there has anything bigger than a blue or red healer.. he has a dead cow out in his pasture so he can get coyotes to come in and so he can shoot them...but last week he saw a "coyote" that was huge, and later was confirmed from me and some of his neighbors that it was in fact a wolf...ive lived in wyoming for 4 years and learned the differeance...so if ur hear to tell me that it isnt a wolf but a coyote...get out of here...its confirmed they are wolves...so my question is whether or not nebraska has a wolf policy that says if a rancher sees one...if they can shoot it to protect their livestock...cuz we want to get rid of them in the area...but are afraid of punishment by the law

Answer 1

I know you probably don't want to hear about how beneficial wolves are to the ecosystem and how they would only attack something if they could not find any natural prey in the area because of their fear of humans. So I'm going to try to put myself into your shoes and take it from your side. Also if you know what kind of wolf it is, that could help.

The wolf was recently re-introduced to places in the US, and the populations did well so there was talk of removing them from the endangered and threatened lists. If they are no longer on the list in Nebraska, then there would be no reason why you couldn't "take care" of the problem as long as they were on your property. Shooting one on someone elses land it could be considered hunting and I'm sure you would need a special permit for that.

But if you had proof that it was a wolf that attacked the cow, and thta it wasn't just sick and they were taking advantage of the situation, then you would be able to shoot it. But you can't shoot just because it's in the area. If it poses a threat to you, or if you SEE it attacking an animal, i'm sure you could shoot. Because that would be in defense and no one could argue with that.

I've been trying to find a law but haven't come across anything. I'd talk with your local game warden to be sure. Good luck.