NATIONAL SAFETY REVIEW OF WILDLIFE EXTERMINATION PROGRAM

Air Crashes, Bio-Agent Security Lapses and Mega-Poison Misuse Beset Feds

Washington, DC — Due to a rash of accidents, mishaps and security breaches, the federal agency which conducts mass wildlife extermination will undertake a nationwide safety review, according an agency circular released today by Sinapu and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The groups are calling on the agency, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture called Wildlife Services, to open this safety examination to public scrutiny.

The scope and severity of the security, safety and bio-hazard issues confronting Wildlife Services (WS) is staggering. In a November 5, 2007 “stakeholders” memo, WS Deputy Administrator William Clay writes that:

“In the wake of several accidents in WS’ programs, WS is conducting a nationwide safety review focusing on aviation and aerial operations, explosives and pyrotechnics, firearms, hazardous chemicals, immobilization and euthanasia, pesticides, vehicles, watercraft, and wildlife disease activities. The review will be conducted by subject matter experts from WS, federal and state government, and private industry. We expect the review to be completed in the next year.”

“Wildlife Services has identified so many safety problems, it is a wonder that it can focus on any one of them,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “The extraordinary thing is that all of these risks are self-imposed as a direct function of agency mishandling, misapplication and mission creep.”

The groups have been calling for action against three of the greatest dangers from WS operations –

Aerial Crashes. Recent crashes in “aerial gunning” accidents – principally pursuit of coyotes via aircraft – have brought the death toll to 10 with more than 30 injuries. This summer, South Dakota grounded its personnel from aerial hunts after its fourth accident in less than ten years;

Stores of Dangerous Biological Agents. Two recent USDA Office of Inspector General audits faulted Wildlife services for inaccurate inventories, lack of controls against theft and unauthorized sales and violations of bioterrorism regulations; and

Highly Lethal Pesticides. Wildlife Services traps and techniques have been linked to inadvertent deaths of large numbers of wild and domestic animals as well as other environmental harms.

“Following every accident, Wildlife Services promises a review but then goes out and commits the same mistakes over and over,” said Wendy Keefover-Ring of Sinapu. “There needs to be an outside review because safety is certainly not the strong suit at Wildlife Services.”

The groups have petitioned USDA to end aerial gunning and have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to suspend registration for two of the most abused wildlife poisons employed by Wildlife Services. They are also calling upon Congress to redirect the more than $100 million annual WS budget which accounted for more than 1.6 million animals killed in 2006.

Contacts:

Wendy Keefover-Ring || Sinapu || 303.447.8655, Ext. 1#

Carol Goldberg ||PEER || 202.265.7337

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See the Wildlife Services announcement of a national safety review

Read the Sinapu/PEER letter calling upon USDA to open the safety review to public scrutiny

 

Look at the growing toll from aerial gunning

 

 

View the failing grades Wildlife Services gets for mishandling potential bio-terror agents

Revisit efforts to ban abused wildlife poisons

 

Track the annual animal carnage claimed by Wildlife Services

In the Valley of the Wolves

Friend and filmmaker Bob Landis has a new special airing on the PBS series Nature this Sunday called In the Valley of the Wolves. The eight minute promo piece below should be enough to get you to watch the special, but if you need more prodding, consider this: Bob Landis gives selflessly of his time, chronicling on film the remarkable comeback of wolves to Yellowstone National Park. He does it because he is called to do it. He does it because he believes that it is both honorable and important for the world to get a more intimate glimpse of these incredibly important carnivores.

On any given day, one can find Bob Landis at the roadside somewhere in Yellowstone. For this film, Bob spent months following the Druid Peak pack as they went about their business, fought with their rivals, played, hunted and howled. Don’t miss this rare and compelling look into the lives of wolves. You’ll be glad you did.

The Trick is Not to Treat the Bears!

Boulder, CO - Sinapu, Sierra Club and In Defense of Animals are canvassing Boulder neighborhoods west of Broadway this fall and “tagging” residences that attract bears. The non-citation tags developed by the groups warn:

• Put your garbage out the morning of pickup only, and ask your trash company about bear proof containers.
• Bring bird feeders in at night and clean grounds of seeds and hulls.
• Harvest fruit trees as they ripen and clean up fallen fruit.

The groups have discussed trash code enforcement matters with Boulder City Council and city officials. The groups have also met with the Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) to pinpoint neighborhoods that have had numerous bear interactions. City and state officials and the three wildlife groups hope to encourage people to come into compliance with state laws and local ordinances concerning bear attractants.

Colorado Revised Statute does not allow people to knowingly attract bears with food or edible waste. Fines can be levied for attracting bears with garbage, bird feeders, pet food, or BBQ grills. Violators are subject to fines: $100 for 1st offense, $500 for 2nd, and $1000 for 3rd and subsequent offenses (C.R.S. §33-6-131.)

Boulder’s trash ordinance requires that trash and recycling may only be put out the same day as collection. Non-compliance may result in a fine of $100 or $1000 (Boulder Revised Code §6-3-5e and §5-2-4.)

In Colorado, bears that are deemed a “nuisance” are tagged. If they are caught a second time they are killed by the DOW under the agency’s “two-strike” policy.

Billie Gutgsell and Morgan Crowley of Sinapu have been coordinating the volunteer effort on behalf of the wildlife organizations. “We’re encouraged that students and community residents have been helping out with this public education campaign,” Crowley said.

“We’re hoping that if we can educate people, then they will take responsibility and work to not attract bears to residences and businesses with fallen tree fruit, bird feeders, and easily accessible garbage. If we can do this then we can save bears,” said Gutgsell.

“It’s especially important that cubs don’t learn these behaviors from their mothers, and that we give them a chance to stay wild,” Crowley added.

To volunteer for the tag team and bear smart citizen campaign, call Morgan Crowley, Sinapu, 720.771.9268

Contact:
Billie Gutgsell || Sinapu, Bear Aware Program Assistant || 303.447.8655, Ext. 0#

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View the Groups’ Non-citation Ticket

View Sinapu’s Letter to Boulder City Council Concerning Trash Code Enforcement and Bear Mortality Data

View Sinapu’s Bear Aware Brochure

Federal Government Killing Record Number of Carnivores

Mammal Death Toll Up 21% in 2006 with Growing Numbers of Wolves Targeted

Washington, DC — The federal government is killing record numbers of warm-blooded animals, particularly carnivores, according to agency statistics compiled by Sinapu and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). In addition, the number of federally protected wolves killed has been steadily rising – up six-fold over the past decade – with nearly 300 wolves dispatched last year alone.

Wildlife Services, a euphemistically named arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, spent $108 million in 2006 to kill more than 1.6 million animals deemed a “nuisance” to ranchers, farmers, and others. That total includes a record number of mammals (207,341) up more than 21% over the previous year, including a record number of animals protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

“We have one arm of the federal government trying to protect wildlife while a different arm is doing its best to eradicate the same animals – how much sense does that make?” asked PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “Our federal government does not have a coherent let alone coordinated wildlife policy.”

The 2006 Wildlife Service kill totals for mammals were up sharply from previous years:

• A record number of gray wolves (278), the subject of a highly publicized reintroduction effort, were killed in numbers that are up more than six-fold since 1996;

• Another 116,610 mammalian carnivores, including 87,000 coyotes, 10,000 raccoons, 2,500 bobcats, 500 badgers, and 318 black bears were taken by federal wildlife agents who also killed 1,184 housecats and 512 dogs; and

• Approximately 50,000 animals from the rodent and rabbit families—the largest toll came from beavers (28,000), followed by nutria (2,500), and marmots and woodchucks (3,700).

“This annual carnage is just staggering,” said Wendy Keefover-Ring of Sinapu, noting that Wildlife Services killed approximately six million animals in the period between 2003 and 2005. “Wildlife Services is like the wildlife equivalent of Blackwater, shooting first and deflecting questions later.”

Notwithstanding the record mammal toll, the majority of animals exterminated by Wildlife Services were birds, including more than a million starlings, and thousands of other avian species:

• Water birds such as 15,855 cormorants, 469 herons, 2,373 ducks, 13,603 geese, and 18,243 gulls;

• Raptors, including 298 hawks, 505 owls, and 12 osprey, as well as 4,871 vultures (important environmental actors that clean up carcasses); and

• 37,391 blackbirds – because they eat grains and sunflower seeds.

The two groups are calling for the federal government to get out of the wildlife extermination business and to divert resources toward management of wildlife populations that are coming into greater conflict with sprawling human development.

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See Wildlife Service annual take of animals protected by the Endangered Species Act

View the mammal kill totals by year and species

Look at the effort to abolish Wildlife Services

Scan the 2006 Wildlife Services “Table of Animals Taken by Component Type and Fate”

Forest Service Rubber-Stamps Grazing in Wolf Recovery Zone

Conservation Groups Sue to Protect Lobos and Other Species

SANTA FE, NM – In the midst of New Mexico’s Wolf Awareness Week, Forest Guardians and Sinapu filed suit in federal district court today in order to overturn all decisions in which the Forest Service allowed livestock grazing on the Gila National Forest in New Mexico without public participation or consideration of impacts to endangered species. The Gila, a rich, biodiverse area measuring 3.3 million acres, supports a host of wildlife and protected species, and is ground zero for the Mexican gray wolf. In their lawsuit, the groups say that by overlooking conflicts between wolf recovery and livestock ranching on public lands, the Forest Service has not only broken federal law, but continues to contribute to the lobo’s demise.

A reintroduction program for the Mexican wolf began in 1998, with the goal that, by the end of 2006, the wild wolf population would number 102 animals, with 18 breeding pairs. Largely due to conflicts with livestock, the wild population of Mexican wolves numbered less than 60 individuals, with just 7 breeding pairs in December 2006. Continuing wolf removals in 2007 have further depressed these numbers, leaving the wild wolf population far short of the program’s goal.