Three of the animals had suffered life-threatening injuries, with another also seriously hurt, Whitfield added.
He said he had lobbied to see if it were possible to not euthanise all of the wolves, but said: “It’s incredibly unfair, they were all suffering.”
Richard Morley, director of the Wolves and Humans Foundation, said that while the incident raises such questions, captive wolves “contribute significantly” to education, and support conservation of the species in the wild.
He said: “If we hope to have wolves back in the UK one day, it is important that people can see them in the flesh and learn more about them, particularly at places like Wildwood, which has an excellent record in supporting conservation and reintroduction of native species.”