Greg Gianforte, the Republican governor of Montana, set a trap for a wolf and killed it, thereby violating the very regulations of the state he governs. For this he was sanctioned with a written warning and required to complete an online training course. The news was broken by a local broadcaster.

The Montana governor's misstep

The incident dates back to February, when Greg Gianforte had only recently begun his term as governor of Montana, following the November 2020 elections. According to documents obtained by the Mountain West News Bureau, the Republican official set a trap for a wolf and then shot it. He was on a private ranch about ten kilometres from Yellowstone National Park. Montana state regulations do in fact permit wolf hunting outside the park, but only on condition that hunters have completed a course and obtained the relevant certificate. Hence the sanction imposed on Gianforte by the authorities.

"It's too easy to kill a wolf"

Wolf 1155, killed by Gianforte, had been born in Yellowstone park but was roaming northward in search of a mate. It was being monitored by biologists via a radio collar. In January 2020, the park's official statistics recorded at least 94 wolves. "People come to Yellowstone from all over the world specifically to see these wolves," notes Jonathan Proctor of the environmental organisation Defenders of Wildlife. "The fact that they can be killed so easily, right on the boundary of the park in the state of Montana, by paying a handful of dollars for a licence… makes no sense, either ecologically or economically."