Inside the US agency charged with killing a ‘mindboggling’ number of animals

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“Wildlife Services funds the lethal control methods, but they don’t fund the nonlethal,” says Fox. “That in and of itself disincentivizes nonlethal methods, and incentivizes the reliance on the federal government for predator control. The reliance on an agency for that kind of subsidy is really, really hard to counter.” www.theguardian.com

GR:  The policies of the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Service demonstrate the way American land-use agencies place the interests of ranchers first and the interests of wildlife and the land second. It is clear now that as long as land managers must fear politicians controlled by special interests such as the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (http://bit.ly/1Nkudid), and the National Livestock Producers Association (http://www.nlpa.org/), there can be no safety for wildlife and its habitats.  Of course, the destruction of nature by its appointed stewards is not limited to America; human governments worldwide conduct it. Will we ever see a government created for the good of the Earth and all its creatures? In the midst of the great human-caused mass extinction, it appears that we will not.

I write EcoSciFi, science fiction with an ecological theme. Here’s an idea for a story about the future of nature conservation:    As the destruction of wildlife becomes apparent to all people, privately funded wildlife-protection militias embedded with the animals will spread. Local governments will oppose these defenders of nature, arms manufacturers will sell to both sides, and violence will escalate. Humanity will have created another force behind its descending spiral to oblivion.

6 thoughts on “Inside the US agency charged with killing a ‘mindboggling’ number of animals”

  2. Hi, Garry. Thanks for reblogging my recent post on the hunter-rancher occupation of the Malheur Refuge. I see you also have a collection of Teddy the Big Game Hunter photos.
    As to Wildlife Services, it has a long history of killing wildlife from its inception as Predator and Rodent Control. (See my post at http://foranimals.org/remove-wildlife-services-from-the-mexican-wolf-program/ ) While the BLM and Forest Service have some worthwhile people and some worthwhile policies, Wildlife Services’ entire reason for existence is to kill wildlife. It is completely beyond reform.

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  4. We must keep in mind that in an agency such as the Wildlife Service could be at the forefront of our effort to protect wildlife. The USDA and many other government entities have excellent goals that are subverted by special interests and immoral politicians.

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  5. Wildlife “Services” (aka Animal Damage Control) has been around since the early 1990’s in some form or another. This agency exists for slaughtering wildlife, and whatever other so-called “non-lethal methods they purport to handle, is a smokescreen, to lull the unsuspecting public into complacency about their one and only reason for existence: to appease the livestock industry by massively burning out coyote dens (dening ), aerial gunning, use of M-44’s, use of compound 1080 (not supposed to be used, but still is), massive use of barbaric traps, everywhere on National Forests, wilderness, BLM, wildlife refuges, state lands in conjunction with “game agencies, and of course, private lands as well. Massive poisoning, trapping of the hated coyote continues unabated, and since millions are slaughtered annually, the actual toll on coyotes alone can be approximated to be a billion or so, since its evil inception. There are no positive things to say about this agency, Chris. The idea that “controlling rabies, bird management and other Humanist approaches, which result in great stress and injury to birds and other wild animals, is a positive thing, must be challenged. It is a sad part of our species antiquated idea of “management.” Please read the article on this site regarding this issue, which will help give a better understanding of this whole idea of “managing” wildlife. The article, by Marc Bedner is titled “No Refuge for Wildlife.” It is also on the site listed below.

    http://www.foranimals.org

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  6. Hi Gary, although I’m no fan of Wildlife Services, they do fund a variety of non-lethal control methods, especially with birds, including trying to find ways to keep geese away from air fields. They also do a lot of the oral baiting to control rabies in raccoon in the eastern US. But I’d still like to see them de-funded and those roles going to state agencies.

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