Work

When strange bedfellows go all in: a template for implementing non‐lethal strategies aimed at reducing carnivore predation of livestock

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: In the Rocky Mountains of the USA, abundances and distributions of grizzly bear Ursus arctos and gray wolf Canis lupus have increased (Bangs et al., 2001; Nicholson & Hendricks, 2018). This has led to increased predation of livestock in areas where livestock producers have not needed to implement conflict prevention methods in recent history. Lethal removal of carnivores that kill livestock remains a common source of carnivore mortalities (Woodroffe, 2001; Broekhuis, Cushman & Elliot, 2017). In the USA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services (USDA-WS) is often asked by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or a State’s wildlife management agency to lethally remove large carnivores that depredate livestock. Where possible, conservation practitioners favor increased use of non-lethal tools to replace lethal methods aimed at preventing depredation of livestock. Conservation groups often dispute management actions for large carnivores, sometimes resulting in lawsuits. It is often challenging to look beyond these differences and note that the ultimate goal of these diverse groups is typically some variation on the same theme: to increase coexistence by reducing conflicts between humans and carnivores.

Source: Animal Conservation

DOI: 10.1111/acv.12453

Authors: J. K. Young, J. Steuber, A. Few, A. Baca, Z. Strong

Institutions: Utah State University, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Natural Resources Defense Council

Language: English

Topic: Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

Subfield: Ecology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Life on land

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,430