Ads try to kindle debate on wolves

MOSCOW, Idaho — A billboard campaign in Washington state aims to reignite a debate that splits the Pacific Northwest: Do wolves belong?

The four billboards near the Idaho border by Washington Residents Against Wolves calls for the state to decrease the wolf population, The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported. The billboards read: “Endangered? No. Dangerous? Yes. Good for Washington? Absolutely Not!”

Pictured is a snarling wolf.

Wolves kill livestock, endanger elk populations and pose a threat to the public, Washington Residents Against Wolves spokesman Jamie Henneman said.

Ecologists dispute those claims, saying wolves are scared of humans and are crucial to the habitat.