Overview
Wildlife Services is a federal program operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Its mission is to "provide leadership in wildlife damage control to protect agricultural, industrial and natural resources and to safeguard public health and safety."
Wildlife Services undertakes a diverse range of activities including the protection of aircraft and airports from birds and geese, the protection of crops from blackbirds and the protection of dikes from beavers. Many of these programs arguably benefit much of the American public.
However, the largest portion of Wildlife Services' budget goes towards its "livestock protection" program - a program that kills "predators" or animals such as coyotes, wolves, foxes, bears and bobcats that can prey on domestic sheep, goats or cattle. The benefits of the livestock protection are limited to a small number of the public and carry serious environmental liabilities.
In 1998, Wildlife Services spent more than $20 million to kill over 100,000 predators, primarily coyotes. The methods used to kill the animals included aerial gunning - that is shooting the animals from helicopters, setting "M-44" traps that eject sodium cyanide into animals' mouths, "denning" - the practice of finding coyotes' dens and shooting or gassing the cubs to death - and catching the animals in steel legholds among others.
As its own figures show, Wildlife Services' livestock protection program primarily benefits the western grazing industry. The program receives federal funding through the appropriations process every year. Taxpayers, therefore, are being asked to shoulder the business costs of the livestock grazing industry by subsidizing the often brutal slaughter of the nation's wildlife. Because the government subsidizes livestock grazing in national forests and parks, this killing frequently takes place on publicly owned land.
The Wildlife Services' livestock protection program, also known as "lethal predator control," has been in operation for 70 years. In that time, it has successfully helped take several species to the brink of extinction including grizzlies, wolves, black-footed ferrets and bald eagles. But even its most vociferous proponents could hardly call the program a success.
Between 1983 and 1993, federal appropriations to the program increased by 71%. The number of coyotes killed during that time similarly increased by 30%. And yet, rates of predation (the killing of livestock by predators) remained steady and in some states are actually increasing. The coyote population - the principal target of the program- is not only stable but has spread geographically from a dozen western states into every other state in the Union except Hawaii.
At the same time, six APHIS personnel have been accidentally killed in helicopter crashes, endangered species have been killed and numerous unsuspecting pets and humans have been poisoned by the baits and traps laid out by Wildlife Services operators on public and private property.
Wildlife Services' livestock protection program should be terminated. As decades of its operation have shown, the program is inhumane. It needlessly harms the environment. It is an unfair taxpayer subsidy to the grazing industry, a misuse of taxpayer dollars and it doesn't work. The program reflects archaic attitudes toward certain species, such as coyotes and wolves, that provide vital indicators of the health of eco-systems. Furthermore, it shows a complete lack of understanding of the basic biological behavior of the targeted animals.
Non-lethal alternatives of predator control are readily available and in use by many ranchers. The Green Scissors Coalition calls for a halt on all federal funding to Wildlife Services' livestock protection or "lethal predator control" programs. Shutting down the livestock protection program would save
taxpayers approximately $20 million each year.
Program Hurts the Environment
Due to over-reliance on lethal control methods, thousands of non-target species are killed annually, including rare, threatened and endangered species. Moreover, the amount of wildlife killed by WS has little relation to actual damage inflicted on crops or livestock. WS routinely kills predators in anticipation of potential losses, not just in response to confirmed damages.
WS's activities make predator problems worse. Biologists have found that when subjected to intense control, not only do female coyotes respond by reproducing at an earlier age and producing larger litters, but pup survival increases, thereby rendering the control efforts counterproductive.
The removal of large predators from an ecosystem can result in a rise in species such as mice and rabbits, which can cause millions of dollars in damage to crops and rangelands.
Contacts
Susan Hagood, The Humane Society of the United States, (301) 258-3149.
David Gaillard, Predator Conservation Alliance, (406) 587-3389.
Erich Pica, Friends of the Earth, (202) 783-7400 x229.
