BENTON COUNTY, Wash. — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced it had to "lethally remove" four bighorn sheep found wandering near the Hanford area on Tuesday
WDFW said it received reports from the public of bighorn sheep wandering near a fence surrounding a tank farm on Monday. The area is not a big horn sheep habitat and WDFW said the sheep would have continued to move around until they found either another habitat or other bighorns.
WDFW said there's a "good chance" the sheep would have already been in contact with domestic sheep, which pose a threat to the bighorns.
"Domestic sheep carry a bacteria that when transmitted to big horn sheep causes sickness that leads to pneumonia and die off in a large part of a bighorn herd initially and then over the long term has a big impact on lamb survival," a public information officer for WDFW said.
WDFW said due to the risk to other herds posed by these four sheep, the "best option" was for lethal removal of the bighorns.
Pneumonia contributed to the historical extinction of bighorns in Washington, and the animals remain highly susceptible to respiratory illnesses.
There are nearly 1,700 bighorn sheep that range in 17 herds in central and eastern areas of Washington state.
