A little-known agency in the Department of Agriculture is an out-of-control destroyer of wildlife, reports investigative journalist Tom Knudson in a lengthy series of articles in the Sacramento Bee. The agency, which calls itself the Wildlife Service, kills hundreds of thousands of animals each year. Thousands of non-target animals, ranging from endangered species to people’s pets, are killed by mistake, and in at least some cases the agency’s response is to shoot, shovel, and shut up.
The sad fact is that this has been going on for many years. Back in 1995, the Antiplanner wrote an in-depth audit of this agency, which was then known as “Animal Damage Control.” Prior to about 1985, this program was part of the Fish & Wildlife Service, but Congress moved it to Agriculture under the not-entirely wrong notion that FWS didn’t really have its heart in indiscriminately killing wildlife.
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The so-called Wildlife Service provides an excellent example of why the left should re-examine its notion that “government is good.” This program was created a century ago, yet there was little reason then and less now for the federal government to be involved in wildlife control. At least a few species have come close to extinction thanks to this program, and it should be shut down immediately. Congratulations to Knudson and the Bee for publishing these articles.
OK, so this is apparently the equivalent of some wildlife commando squad? Unbelievable, only in government!
I read part of the Sac Bee article, and this jumped out at me:
Last August, Maggie’s spine was crushed when she stepped into a vise-like “body-grip” trap set by Wildlife Services near the family’s suburban Oregon home to catch a nonnative rodent called a nutria.…
because I read about it in the Oregonian, only the links to a special federal gang of thugs wasn’t made clear in the Oregonlive article.
True, nutria are destructive, invasive species, but somehow I doubt this agency’s approach is the optimum one. Their operations bring to mind Sylvester Stallone in First Blood, not the local animal control office!
Endangered Species legislation does little to actually help animals. It may simply encourage preemptive habitat destruction by landowners who fear losing profitable use of their land because of the presence of said species; known colloquially as “Shoot, Shovel and Shut-Up. Lawyers often cite the ease of which it is for large company to obtain any of the necessary permits when they actually develop a property compared to the average person who must spend far more of their potential investment or income obtaining the same permits that they would of spent. It’s corporatism aimed at keeping small business from developing and allows big business who can afford these permits and red tape. There are over 1,800 species listed on the Endangered Species Act. Since the law went into effect in the 70’s only 40 have ever been removed; that in and of itself showcases the efficacy of the legislation. Of those 40, nine are extinct. Sixteen were added to the list mistakenly so that doesn’t count. Leaving only fifteen suppossed successes? Three are kangaroos (that live in Australia?), three are birds native to Palau that were miscounted, three birds (including the Bald Eagle) recovered due to three decades of government’s ban on DDT (done by the EPA not the ESA), One is the American Alligator; scientists overestimated the threat they faced, combined with commercial breeding in the thousands per year for meat, leather and tourism ensures they’ll probably never go extinct. One is the Robbins Cinquefoil, a rare species of New Hampshire plant that occurs above the tree line, easily saved by volunteer efforts, transplanting some and redirecting hiking trails so backpackers didn’t step on them. One is a “Canadian” White tailed deer and Canada Goose, saved by hunting restrictions and kill limits. One is the Tinian Monarch, a Pacific island bird whose habitat was blown away by the Allies but was fine by the time we bothered to look again. There’s the Grey Whale (saved by the petroleum industry of sorts, a hundred years ago by eliminating the need for whale oil). And the Hoover’s Woollystar, rare flower which after being put on the list in the 80’s. Further studies revealed many more populations, including several in counties not previously known. The species may have been sparse during the 1980s surveys due to droughts thus it was discounted yet still considered a success story despite doing nothing. And if you bothered to read all this, that’s 41.
We should note that this killing is done to maintain profit, often corporate profit.
Nonetheless, there is no excuse. Maybe one day we will conduct our affairs in an intelligent manner, but I’ll wager no money on it.
DS
This program was created a century ago, yet there was little reason then and less now for the federal government to be involved in wildlife control. At least a few species have come close to extinction thanks to this program, and it should be shut down immediately.
Remember that next time your airplane takes off and you look down and see prime waterfowl habitat at the end of the runway, especially in NYC and SF. Waterfowl would probably take down an airline every week if it were not for the Wildlife Service.
This is a good point, albeit slightly exaggerated. There are numerous methods used to suppress bird strikes around airfields, killing is merely one of them. Last year I was out leading a nature walk where we could see the planes on approach into DEN from the north, and we watched an Airbus take evasive action to avoid a bird strike. The folks were dispatched soon thereafter and several different annoyance devices were deployed to keep the birds away. Lots of birdnerds on the lookout for people killing birds…
DS
Just wondering, Dan, if your daughter (or someone who would look like your daughter) was on that airline having to take evasive maneuvers to avoid killing hundreds of people, would you rely on birdnerds to save her life?
Are you trying to imply the deterrent methods are ineffective? Why would try and imply that?
DS
Exterminating Starlings is a service to native birds survival.
We should have an agency focused on ways of ridding us of non-native pests. Just wait until Chinese Stink Bugs come to your area!
The results of Chestnut Blight, for example, speak for themselves.
Anyone looking for Northern Snakeheads or Asian Carp to show up in their favorite fishing hole?