Well, that is another problem with wolves: high penalties for killing them. And because you never know for sure that the coyote in your sights is a coyote and not a small wolf, coyote are “protected” now as well.
Farmers of yesteryear worked hard to get rid of wolves, only to have them replaced.
For years Wis. outlawed coyote shooting during dear season to protect the wolves.
The rest of the year it shooting yotes was wide open.
They did away with that rule some years back.
Yotes are now shot on sight
My family (Basque) ranched sheep for four generations in Nevada and California. No one in the family raises sheep anymore. Government took away most of the grazing leases or made it too expensive in California.
Yotes were always a problem and cost a lot of money in lost revenue. You will never out hunt, shoot, or reduce the Coyote population they are too prolific and now live in urban areas. Can't imagine adding wolfs to that mix.
Countless times I have run into mountain lion while dear hunting. In California they kill more deer than hunters. Because they do not allow a dow hunt in California the young deer losses are too high because of too many Dows taking away forage in winter. States with dow hunts have much higher buck populations and healthier deer herds. I have run into Fish & Game officers that laugh and turn the other cheek per se when it comes to problem mountain lions. Can't imagine a decade from now with a wolf population in the lower Sierra's. Good luck with that, there are still many ranchers with cattle grazing leases in the Sierra Mountains.
There are so many yotes in California that anything from a rabbit to the largest four legged animal will be gone before morning and turned into yote scat. We still have some foothill property and at anytime with a screaming rabbit call in the evening can call down yotes to be dispatched. Like using a .308 loaded with Hornady nonleaded sintered tungsten jacketed hollow points that detonate on impact and is a great varmint bullet. Neighbor rancher appreciates the taking of any and all yotes that go after his calving cows in the herd.