DRIVE TO AXE FEDERAL PREDATOR ERADICATION PROGRAM

[nosmokes]

DRIVE TO AXE FEDERAL PREDATOR ERADICATION PROGRAM

— $100 Million Agriculture Program Slaughters 1.6 Million Wild Animals a Year

Washington, DC — A new coalition of conservation groups with a combined membership of more than 10 million is launching a campaign to abolish an entrenched federal program dedicated to killing wild carnivores. The groups argue that the predator eradication program is biologically counterproductive, uneconomical, inhumane, and creates serious safety hazards from widespread use of highly toxic agents and other lethal chemicals, equipment and techniques.

Wildlife Services, a euphemistically named arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, spends more than $100 million in taxpayer money each year to kill one wild animal every 19 seconds and one wild mammal every 150 seconds, according to 2006 figures. Wildlife Services provides agents to poison, shoot or trap animals deemed a “nuisance” to ranchers, farmers, and others. Controversial techniques used by Wildlife Services include explosive booby-traps and aerial hunts.

The new coalition is coordinated by WildEarth Guardians, which has long opposed eradication of native carnivores, such as coyotes, bobcats, foxes, bears and wolves. The coalition is asking Congress to eliminate any further funding for Wildlife Services predator control efforts.

“Wildlife Services is premised on the notion that animals considered ‘varmints’ must be shot, poisoned or killed in their dens,” said Wendy Keefover-Ring of WildEarth Guardians, who organized the coalition. “Modern wildlife management has moved beyond the ‘shoot first’ approach peddled for decades by our Agriculture Department.”

Due to a rash of accidents, mishaps and security breaches, Wildlife Services is currently undergoing a nationwide safety review of its aerial gunning and poison management programs. In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is now considering a ban on two of the most deadly poisons used by Wildlife Services to kill wild mammals.

“The federal government ought to get out of the wildlife extermination business,” stated Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting the conflict between federal agencies working to preserve natural predators, like the wolf, and Wildlife Services that seeks to kill wolves. “Wildlife Services is an unjustified, dangerous and needlessly cruel subsidy for agri-business.”

The call by conservation groups to curb the funding for Wildlife Services will undoubtedly be met by fierce resistance from livestock organizations.

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complete release including links to related sources here

[OmahaBlueDog]

1. Easily said when it's not your sheep or cattle being killed

[alarimer]

2. There are other ways to do this.

Leaving the damn coyotes alone.

Ranchers and farmers get so many federal subsidies it's unreal. First they get to graze their cattle on PUBLIC LANDS for less than fair market value. For a bunch of anti-government types they sure spend a lot of time feeding at the public trough.

So I am not boo-hooing this at all.

[nosmokes]

3. Honest question -Tell me please, just how many head of sheep or beef

you've lost to catamount or wolf predation and how much it cost you after being reimbursed by the government(more often than not from a fund supplied by enviros and tree huggers and sometimes hunting licenses too)?And how many head and what is the cost of loss due to hunters?I ask because last year was a particularly bad year in a couple of Oregon counties for farmers losing stock to hunters, which was nuts because the poupulation of deer was huge and the elk herds were healthy too. There was no reason for it other than bad sportsmanship.