SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Environmental groups are asking Gov. Jay Inslee to push for the creation of strict rules limiting when wolves can be killed in response to livestock depredations.

Their petition seeks to limit when the state Department of Fish and Wildlife can kill wolves. It would also require ranchers to use nonlethal measures to protect their livestock. Rules similar to those requested by the petition are in place in Oregon.

The groups made the request on Thursday as the state is in the process of trying to kill four wolves in the Huckleberry Pack in an effort to protect a herd of sheep. One wolf has been killed so far. Wolves were hunted to extinction a century ago in Washington. Since the early 2000s, the animals have started to make a comeback.

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