Killing predators

Killing predators

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
There has been a big deal made about the USDA's wildlife services killing predatory animals. The Associated Press has published an article and, not surprisingly, I can't get anybody to answer my calls but I will let you know what the Associated Press says. "A federal agency's justifications for killing coyotes, mountain lions and other animals in an effort to protect livestock and elk violate environmental laws because they lack a scientific review. That is the ruling of a federal court justice. US District Court Judge B. Lynn windmill said in a recent decision that the US Department of Agriculture's reasons for not doing the scientific review were not convincing or objective. The USDA's Wildlife Services kills and removes predators that kill livestock in many states, especially in the West. In Idaho alone, the agency killed nearly 4000 coyotes in 2016. The agency chose to update its predator removal plans after environmental groups said previous documents were outdated. In 2015, the agency released a draft document of an environmental assessment and accepted comments. Environmental groups have sued, contending that the agency violated environmental laws by not doing a more extensive scientific review called an environmental impact statement to more fully understand the ramifications of killing creditors. Windmill agreed that the agency needed to do the more extensive review which can take several years to complete.
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