Indices to the seriousness of the problem are available only from recent years, so historical trends cannot be detected.
Most losses occur in summer when livestock are released to graze in open and wooded pasture.
Herd management practices, such as calving in forested or brushy pastures and disposal of carcasses in or near pastures, are responsible for many instances of wolf depredation. Recently the number of wolves killed in depredation control has declined, whereas the number of livestock killed has remained fairly stable. Results of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's depredation- control program in 1979 and 1980 suggest that highly restricted trapping, coupled with other management methods, has potential for reducing both livestock losses and the number of wolves that need to be killed. Wolf depredation on livestock in Minnesota. D.C. Resource Publication 145.