Douglas Smith, PhD
Leader of Yellowstone National Park's Gray Wolf Restoration Project
Many ranchers are rejecting the old practice of killing large carnivores to protect livestock. Instead, they are increasingly using new technology and old methods of animal husbandry to coexist with carnivores.
Native carnivores bring balance to the landscape and keep ecosystems healthy. But they can also be seen as a threat to livestock, and for decades government trappers have killed them in large numbers. The U.S.D.A.'s Wildlife Services program kills tens of thousands of native carnivores annually, often at the demand of the ranching industry. It is a battle against nature that is costly, brutal, and not very effective. Does the battle really need to be fought? Wild Things introduces audiences to progressive ranchers learning to coexist with these animals and features scientists, conservationists and even former Wildlife Services trappers, who believe it is time for a major change in the way we treat our magnificent native carnivores.
Photos by Lisa Whiteman
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Leader of Yellowstone National Park's Gray Wolf Restoration Project
A Montana cattle rancher using non-lethal methods to control predation
A Montana sheep rancher using non-lethal methods to control predation
A sheep rancher in California using non-lethal methods to control predation
A former Wildlife Services agent and trapper, now working with 40 ranches in Alberta on non-lethal predator control
Alberta cattle ranchers participating in a large-scale project to control predators non-lethally
Stop Predator Poisons from Killing Wildlife and Harming Ecosystems
The Ecological Importance of Predators
Reform Wildlife Services' Predator Control
Fuzzy Math: Wildlife Services Should Improve Its Economic Analysis of Predator Control
It's time to stop the Wildlife Services agency from poisoning thousands of animals every year at the behest of agribusiness. Ask Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to direct Wildlife Services to discontinue the use of Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide for predator control. These two deadly poisons have no place on our public lands.
Stop the Government Poisoning of Wildlife!
Please check back soon to find out where you can see WILD THINGS.
The Humane Society of the US, IFAW and NRDC present a free reception and public screening, followed by a panel discussion:
Crest Theater
1013 K Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
RSVP required