The Humane Society of the United States has added up to $5,000 to the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a person or persons involved in the illegal killing three wolves near Floodwood last month.
That follows Thursday's news that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information on the incident.
The three wolves were found together, dead, just off St. Louis County Highway 8 near Floodwood on Jan. 22. Evidence was gathered from the scene and a criminal investigation is underway.
The Humane Society reported in a news release Friday that "the wolves appeared to have snare marks on their necks and evidence indicates that they may have been killed elsewhere and dumped near the road, possibly the night before the DNR received the report."
Gray wolves remain federally protected under the Endangered Species Act after a December 2014 court ruling. Efforts are underway in Congress to remove those protections, but so far they have failed to advance.
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"There is no excuse for deliberately killing three members of a threatened species and discarding the animals like litter along the road for all to see," Christine Coughlin, Minnesota state director for the Humane Society, said in a news release. "The poacher responsible has callously wasted the lives of these wolves."
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Turn in Poachers line at (800) 652-9093.
