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From: WDR <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: ADC's kill figures
Sender: [log in to unmask]
Wildlife Damage Review members and friends,
I have recently received Animal Damage Control's (or "Wildlife
Services") annual report tables for fiscal year 1999. (As of Oct. 1,
government programs entered fiscal year 2001.) ADC has informed me that
within a couple of months the figures will be posted on their website:
www.aphis.usda.gov/ws, however, I can only find fy 97 information, and
none of the annual tables from any year. If someone is able to locate
any of the tables, please let me know how to find them.
If you need descriptions of methods, or a comparison with other figures
please refer to our website: www.azstarnet.com/~wdr (fy 97 figures
were the last posted there.)
Following is a summary of ADC activities for fy 99:
EXPENDITURES
ADC spent a total of $53.6 million on their program. Congress
appropriated $21 million for ADC programs, and also approximately $10
million for related research (which is tracked separately) at their
National Wildlife Research Center facility in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
Added to this is another $32.6 million from cooperative sources which
includes other federal programs, state tax dollars, money from other
state programs such as state wildlife agencies, county dollars, and some
private money from cooperators such as cattlemen's associations. Most of
the funding for ADC is from tax dollars at the county, state and federal
levels.
They have reported spending the money on four programs; $30 M on
Agriculture protection, $10.3 M on Human Health & Safety, $8.7 M on
Property protection, and $4.6 M on protection of Natural Resources. They
used to have seven major programs, including Aquaculture, Threatened and
Endangered species work, protecting forest resources, and livestock
protection, but have now consolidated their data to give us less detail
about where the money goes.
Since receiving heavy criticism for funnelling most of the dollars into
livestock protection, we now see a trend toward categorizing those
dollars under the auspices of "human health and safety" (protecting us
from bird poop, possible lion and coyote attacks, bears turning over
gargage cans, etc), "property protection", and even under "Natural
Resources" where some wildlife (predators) are killed supposedly to
protect others (like deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep). In most states
now, much of real agriculture expenditures have been shifted to these
other categories.
Interestingly, Washington DC is the only region where there is no ADC
program or staff, yet it contains the most dangerous and vicious
predators!
KILL FIGURES
ADC reports to have killed 4,082,575 animals in fiscal year 99 (two and
a half times what they reported from last year). They report another
20,400 captured and freed, although I it on record from ADC personnel
that many of these animals are "freed" to other entities which then
euthanize them. Also interesting in this particular table is ADC's
admitting that they "freed" 486 animals from kill traps, 263 from neck
snares, 2 were shot and 3 from denning activities! These are all very
lethal control methods.
They reported killing 3,886,759 birds of various species, including
hawks, owls, ducks, doves, vultures, ravens, songbirds, herons, etc.
Most were starlings, pigeons, doves, and gulls, in that order.
Other species:
BADGERS---601. These species were even aerial gunned in Utah and
Montana. . . our tax dollars at work.
BEARS---347, plus 2 grizzlies killed in Montana. Two black bears were
killed by M-44s in West Virginia. Two Louisiana Black Bears were also
purposefully killed.
BEAVERS---32,795.
BOBCATS---2,435. This species was killed by aerial gunning, M-44s, and
by puncturing a toxic collar filled with compound 1080, among ADC's
other usual methods.
CATS (domestic)---2,261.
COYOTES---85,938. Almost all were killed by aerial gunning (30,875),
M-44s (18,159), by neck snares (12,949), leghold traps (7,806), denning
(2,155), and 32 were killed by toxic collars filled with compound 1080.
DEER---1,238 (including 37 Mule Deer).
DOGS---877 (228 were killed by M-44s).
ELK---3.
FOX---6,182
Arctic---361 (41 by denning, 9 by M-44s)
Gray---2,258 (51 by aerial gunning, 471 by M-44s)
Kit---28 (24 by M-44s)
Red---3,518 (180 by aerial gunning, 244 by denning, 922 by M-44s)
Swift---17 (all by M-44s)
FERAL HOGS---5,910 (2,178 by aerial gunning, 9 by M-44s)
LIONS---359 (most killed under the heading of "other" for which there is
no description).
MARMOTS & WOODCHUCKS---2,158 (4 by M-44s).
OPPOSSUM---2,062 (82 by M-44s).
OTTERS---649 (mostly by kill traps. Why otters? My guess is that they
are perceived to compete with our aquaculture industry).
JAVELINA---162 (all were "accidental" kills).
PRAIRIE DOGS---494 (I don't believe this figure for a minute. My
educated guess is that most were killed by poisoned oats or gas
cartridges, died in their burrows and were never even counted. One
species is virtually extinct, two very rare, and black-tailed p-dogs
have been petitioned to be listed on the endangered species list. The
other species, Gunnisons, may be next.)
PRONGHORN---3 (all accidental. Two caught and died in leghold traps, one
in a neck snare).
RACCOONS---7,967 (265 by M-44s).
RINGTAILS---11 (3 by M-44s).
SKUNKS (all species)---6,489 (64 by M-44s).
TURTLES---728 (most were accidental, but not all. Not sure why turtles
are bad?!).
WOLVES---173 (12 were aerial gunned, 1 by M-44).
There are many other species listed and killed that ADC considers to be
target animals; harming agriculture, aquaculture, human properties, a
threat to human health and safety, or even a threat to natural
resources.
CHEMICAL INFO.
Compound 1080 Toxic Collar
These velcro collars have two bladders filled with deadly compound 1080
and are worn by selected livestock (lambs and goats) to lure coyotes to
kill these collared animals. In the act of killing, the bladders are
punctured and a deadly dose is ingested. Four to eight hours later,
after a prolonged poisoning, death occurs.
Apparently, only three states used the toxic collar in fy 99. Since the
registration for using this product has been streamlined in the last
five years, nine states now have access to this most deadly of poisons,
compound 1080. Those are TX, WY, MT, ID, WV, VA, NM, SD, and UT.
California banned 1080 use by voter initiative, and Oregon activists
recruited their Governor's help to ban their 1080 program.
According to ADC figures, Texas used 66 toxic collars, Virginia used 2,
and West Virginia used 5. Thirty-two coyotes were reported killed by
these devices. Is it worth the risk? Not hardly.
M-44 Devices
ADC reported 37,887 M-44s planted on public and private lands. These are
supposedly "canine specific" and target only coyotes, foxes, and feral
dogs. Their use is illegal in wolf country, but you'll note from the
figures that one wolf was reported killed by an M-44. There have been
others in past years.
You'll also note that there were 8 other species in the above list that
were killed by M-44s that are not canines. The list for past years
indicates almost two dozen non-canine species have died from them.
Several people have been victims of secondary poisoning from the cyanide
powder residue, though only one has ever been reported to have died from
a "coyote getter", as they were called in the old days. That was in
1971. There were at least two very close calls with people that we know
of in the last two years.
ADC also uses several bird and rodent poisons, most of which have
secondary effects on other non-target species. Thousands of pounds are
scattered over our public lands to kill animals for special interests,
such as the livestock industry and forest industries. ADC/USDA also
makes these chemicals available to the public at large to use without
government supervision. The annual tables indicate that an abundance of
nasty chemicals used by private individuals for similar purposes kills
many, many times more animals than are reported in ADC figures.
If anyone has questions, or something is not clear, please contact me,
Nancy Zierenberg at [log in to unmask] Or you can give ADC a call at
(202) 720-2054. Monty Chandler is the compiler of all the states'
figures, so you may want to ask for him. The Director of the ADC program
is Bill Clay. You can fax any comments or questions to ADC at (202)
690-0053 or write:
Director
USDA/APHIS/WS (or ADC, as we prefer to do)
14th & Independence SW, Room 1624-south
Washington DC 20250-3402
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Rex L. Bavousett
Photographer
University of Iowa
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