Montana moves to limit wolf hunts around Yellowstone national park

Hunting and trapping will end after 82 wolves killed but commissioners won't reinstate quotas ended by Republicans

Montana wildlife commissioners on Friday moved to shut down gray wolf hunting around Yellowstone national park, amid mounting criticism over a record number of animals shot or trapped after roaming across the park boundary this winter.

But commissioners rejected calls to revive quotas that would limit the number of wolves killed along Yellowstone's northern border to just a few annually. Those longstanding quotas were lifted last year after Republicans passed laws intended to drive down the wolf population by making it easier to kill the animals.