[TN-Bird] Here's the "nuisance animal" article just mentioned
- From: Dthomp2669@xxxxxxx
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 13:36:38 EDT
Here is the article that Howard Groce mentioned. I went to the original
source (Associated Press/referred me to Newsday) from which the TENNESSEAN got
it.
I didn't find it online from the TENNESSEAN. Guess its OK to post on
TN-Birds since it mentions geese, etc.
Dee Thompson
Nashville, TN
Feds Killed 2.7 'Nuisance' Animals in '04
By LIBBY QUAID
Associated Press Writer
September 9, 2005, 4:51 PM EDT
WASHINGTON -- The government killed more than 2.7 million "nuisance" animals
last year, including wild turkeys and chickens, black bears, coyotes and
wolves, but primarily starlings, troublemaking birds that destroy crops and
contaminate livestock feed.
They were killed mainly because they threatened livestock, crops or people in
airplanes.
The number of animals killed, an increase of 1 million over 2003, drew
criticism from environmental groups.
"Wildlife Services killed more than five animals per minute in 2004," said
Wendy Keefover-Ring, spokeswoman for Sinapu, a Colorado-based advocacy group
for
wolves and other predators. "The toll on ecosystems wrought by this one
agency is jaw-dropping."
Wildlife Services, an Agriculture Department program, kills black bears that
like to eat campers' food in public parks or birds that congregate near
airports and could get sucked into aircraft engines.
"Lethal means is something that we do as a final resort, when we have repeat
problems," said Wildlife Services spokesman Dan Perry. "It is not something
done indiscriminately."
He described how the department helps land owners, airports and other
government agencies cut tall grasses, build fences, drain standing water and
take
other measures to dampen creatures' enthusiasm for a place. For example,
officials may use fake dead vultures to drive away live ones.
"Believe it or not, it works; that's just the way the species reacts," Perry
said.
The mission of Wildlife Services is to protect agriculture, property and
natural resources and to reduce wildlife threats to human health and safety.
The
service used to be known as Animal Damage Control.
The program has a research center in Fort Collins, Colo., that is developing
contraceptives for deer and geese, and it also has a rabies vaccination
program for wildlife.
The number of animals killed probably rose because funding increased for the
department's cormorant program, aimed at protecting fish farms from the large,
voracious diving birds. Also targeted were flocks of Canada geese that have
stopped their annual migrations. The department killed 3,263 double-crested
cormorants and 10,735 Canada geese last year.
The largest number of animals killed -- 2.3 million -- were starlings, which
are attracted to feedlots and defecate in cattle feed. Critics say the poison
used also kills owls, hawks, magpies, raccoons and cats. The department also
uses aerial gunning, traps or "denning," which involves killing animals in
their dens.
"Most of the public has no idea that a significant portion of the federal
wildlife management budget is actually devoted to extermination," said Jeff
Ruch,
executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
"Animals that inconvenience humans become expendable `varmints' that are then
dispatched with stunning efficiency."
Among the animals killed were:
* 75,674 coyotes.
* 31,286 beavers.
* 3,907 foxes.
* 397 black bears.
* 359 cougars.
* 191 wolves.
* 143 feral or free-ranging chickens
* 72 wild turkeys
* __
On the Net:
Wildlife Services: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ws Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.
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