GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — The latest livestock attack by Oregon's Snake River wolf pack puts it one bite away from a potential state kill order.

New rules established under a legal settlement allow state officials to consider a kill order after four qualifying attacks by a wolf pack every six months. The most recent attack makes three for the Snake River pack.

An Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife report released Monday says a rancher who found a wounded cow on Nov. 21 had taken required non-lethal steps to deter wolf attacks.

Those steps included cleaning up old cow carcasses, putting out radio-activated alarm boxes and checking the cattle up to five times a day.

The settlement of a lawsuit from conservation groups forced Oregon to create the rules for using non-lethal controls on wolves before lethal control can be considered.

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