Environmental Issues: Wildlife
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All Documents in Wildlife Tagged Importance of predators
- Non-Lethal Methods to Prevent Conflicts Between Predators and Livestock
Fact Sheet - Every year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services program kills thousands of predators as a taxpayer-funded subsidy to the livestock industry, using controversial and inhumane methods such as poisons and aerial gunning. Wildlife Services largely ignores the many non-lethal ways to prevent conflicts between predators and livestock. In fact, a small, but growing number of ranchers are turning away from Wildlife Services’ “sledgehammer” approach and emphasizing non-lethal conflict-prevention techniques because they recognize that predators are an integral part of the landscapes where they ranch. Get document in pdf.
- The Ecological Importance of Predators
Fact Sheet - Predators have profound effects throughout their ecosystems. Regrettably, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services ignores the positive role that predators play in their surrounding habitat, and has a long history of persecuting predators, considered competitors for game animals and threats to livestock and agriculture. As a result, in many areas,large predators have been eliminated entirely and most of these species now occupy only a fraction of their historical distribution. Get document in pdf.
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