A Coalition To End Aerial Gunning of Wildlife
DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK:
Lethal predator control programs cost tens of millions of dollars each year,
and they result in the deaths of tens of thousands of mammalian carnivores
annually, especially coyotes. Despite this investment, the government's own
reports show that predators kill few livestock. We examine the U.S. Department
of Agriculture's reports for cattle and sheep production and compare them to
predation numbers. We find that mammalian carnivores killed 0.18% of the total
U.S. cattle production and 3% of the sheep production.
We discuss the economics of lethal predator control programs and the variety of
non-lethal protections that farmers and ranchers can take to protect their
herds and flocks.
Cattle Losses:
Every year the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS) reports on the U.S. cattle production inventory. In
2005, U.S. producers raised 104.5 million head of cattle (USDA, 2005a).
Approximately every five years, NASS reports on unintentional cattle deaths as
a result of predation, weather issues, disease etc. The latest cattle death
report was released in May 2006 (USDA, 2006). The government's own figures
again show that mammalian carnivores kill very few livestock (0.18%) when
compared with annual production levels (see bibliography below for citations
for NASS's 1997 and 2001 cattle death and corresponding production reports).
Of the 104.5 million cattle that were produced in 2005, 190,000 (or 0.18%) died
as the result of predation from coyotes, domestic dogs, and other carnivores
(USDA, 2006). In comparison, livestock producers lost 3.9 million head of
cattle (3.69%) to all sorts of maladies, weather, or theft (USDA, 2006) [Figure
1].
Coyotes were the primary cattle predators -- they killed 97,000 cattle in 2005,
followed by domestic dogs -- which killed 21,900 cattle. Wolves killed
remarkably few cattle, 4,400 head, as did the felids (USDA, 2006) [Figure 2].
Sheep Losses:
In 2004, sheep producers raised 7,650,000 animals (USDA 2005b). Of that figure,
native carnivores and domestic dogs killed 3% of the total production, or
224,200 sheep (USDA 2005b). In comparison, 5% of sheep died from illness,
dehydration, falling on their backs or other causes (USDA 2005c) [Figure 3].
Coyotes and domestic dogs were the main carnivores involved in sheep predation
in 2004 (USDA 2005c) [Figure 4].
Despite decades of predator control, which has resulted in more than 5 million
deaths of predators in the last six decades, lethal predator controls do not
benefit sheep growers, according to a new study (Berger, 2006). Market forces
place a larger role in the decline of the sheep industry (Berger, 2006). On the
other hand, large-scale predator eradications are biologically expensive and
inherently non-selective (Mitchell et al., 2004.) In fact, one study found no
correlation between the number of coyotes killed and the number of lambs lost
(Mitchell et al., 2004). Socially and biologically expensive, lethal predator
controls do little to benefit the sheep industry.
Yet, sheep and lambs are frequently left on open range, oftentimes unguarded.
USDA biologists Frederick Knowlton et al., write, "sheep have been selectively
bred for thousands of years to produce animals that are tractable and suited to
particular husbandry techniques" (Knowlton et al., 1999). Simply put, domestic
sheep have few predator-avoidance strategies, therefore humans must take steps
to protect them. Even wild sheep and goats use cliffs or steep terrain to avoid
predators; how then can domestic sheep expect to fare on open, relatively flat
range?
Non-lethal methods of control can be very effective in reducing livestock
losses. Unfortunately, livestock producers are not required to use these
methods and few economic incentives favor non-lethal controls because producers
enjoy highly subsidized lethal predator controls.
Because coyotes (even breeding coyotes) do not specialize on sheep, ranchers
can minimize their livestock losses by "concentrating sheep in as small an
areas as possible" (Sacks and Neale, 2002).
A variety of non-lethal techniques exist (Andelt, 1996). Sheep, because of
their docile nature, require special protections. Human herders and several
types of guard animals (llamas, some breeds of dogs, and burros) can be used.
Also, sheep and goats can be bonded with cattle, who more aggressively defend
themselves.
During lambing and calving season, ranchers are advised to bring their
livestock into barns, pens or sheds. Research on synchronizing the birthing
season with that of wild prey species has also proven effective. Scaring
devices, like strobe lights, firecrackers, and noisemakers or flandry (flags
tied to ropes), offer yet other alternatives. Finally, ranchers should be
advised to quickly remove all livestock carcasses to prevent scavengers from
habituating to the taste of livestock. The use of two or more methods together
has been proven to be the most effective.
Moreover, while not all coyotes kill sheep, WS and others use the "sledge
hammer" approach -- that is, killing a large number of predators so that the
"offending animal" will be among the casualties (Mitchell et al. 2004).
Bibliography:
Andelt, William F. 1996. Carnivores. In P.R. Krausman, Editor. Rangeland
Wildlife. Denver: Society for Range Management: 133-55.
Berger, Kim Murray. 2006. Carnivore-Livestock Conflicts: Effects of Subsidized
Predator Control and Economic Correlates on the Sheep Industry. 20 Conservation
Biology 3:751-761.
Knowlton, Frederick, Eric Gese and Michael Jeaeger. 1999. Coyote Depredation
Control: An Interface Between Biology and Management. 52 Journal of Range
Management: 398-412.
Mitchell, Brian, Michael Jaeger, and Reginald Barrett. 2004. Coyote Depredation
Management: Current Methods and Research Needs. 32 Wildlife Society Bulletin:
1209-1218.
Sacks, Benjamin and Jennifer Neale. 2002. Foraging Strategy of a Generalist
Predator Toward a Special Prey: Coyote Predation on Sheep. 12 Ecological
Applications: 299-306.
United States Department of Agriculture-National Agricultural Statistics
Service. 1997. Cattle and Calves Death Loss.
United States Department of Agriculture-National Agricultural Statistics
Service. 1995. Cattle.
http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp
United States Department of Agriculture-National Agricultural Statistics
Service. 2001a. Cattle.
http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp
United States Department of Agriculture-National Agricultural Statistics
Service. 2001b. Cattle Predator Loss.
http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp
United States Department of Agriculture-National Agricultural Statistics
Service. 2005a. Cattle.
http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp
United States Department of Agriculture-National Agricultural Statistics
Service. 2005b. Sheep.
http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp
United States Department of Agriculture-National Agricultural Statistics
Service. 2005c. Sheep and Goats Death Loss.
http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp
United States Department of Agriculture-National Agricultural Statistics
Service. 2006. Cattle Death Loss.
http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp