Wildlife Services: A Vicious Cycle

In 2007, Wildlife Services spent upwards of a $100 million in order to control predatory attacks. By the time the year was over, Wildlife Services had become responsible for over 100,000 animal deaths—coyotes, cougars, cats and dogs among them.

Every year livestock and cattle owners across the Northwest still call in the government’s Wildlife Services program in order to deal with predators that threaten their animals. For some, Wildlife Services seems like an excellent source to turn to when no other means of protection is available. Many others, however, see Wildlife Services as a nuisance. The general consensus among those who disagree with the policies of Wildlife Services is that the information readily available and advertised to the public is quite different to the reality found beneath the surface. For example, the extermination of rabid raccoons is advertised as a solution that Wildlife Services provides, and the public rarely disapproves of this activity due to the dangerous nature of rabies. However, by advertising such services, other happenings such as the indiscriminate killing of wolves, cougars, bears and coyote are swiftly thrown out of the limelight.


Photo: Cougar heads killed by Wildlife Services - predatordefense.org

Despite their attempts to protect the livestock industry, Wildlife Services has seemingly worsened the problem: Long time researcher of Wildlife Services, George Wuerthner, says: “Indiscriminately killing predators skews the age of a population over time…leaving a higher percentage of young, inexperienced predators that are far more likely to target livestock.” In this, Wuerthner explains the beginnings of a vicious cycle created by Wildlife Services: A livestock owner calls in a troublesome predator, several animals are killed (among them a large population of older, more experienced hunters) and inexperienced hunters are left to once again target livestock. After this, the cycle repeats.

Part of the reason that this cycle exists is due to the fact that there are no hunting laws in Oregon and so farmers and livestock owners often have no incentive to properly protect their animals. “In Chile, the farmers take protective measures like cattle sheds and corral fences to protect their livestock because there are laws against killing predators,” says Wuerthner, who recently returned from Chile. “In the Northwest there are no laws in place and so it’s easier just to call in Wildlife Services.”

Statistically, predator attacks play a far smaller part in the death of livestock than disease, poisonous plants and injury, but predators are treated differently because, well, you can’t shoot a disease. Death happens, but hunting and killing predators indiscriminately solves nothing—it just worsens the problem.

For more Information: http://www.predatordefense.org/USDA.htm