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GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: Animal-killing program pulls wool over taxpayers' eyes Comment By Lin Bernhardt and Amy Atwood MailTribune.com By Lin Bernhardt and Amy Atwood Posted May. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Lin Bernhardt and Amy Atwood Posted May. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News In the myth perpetuated for decades now, the federal program known as Wildlife Services presents its killing practices that leave millions of wild animals dead every year as necessary tools to protect people, their pets and agricultural profits. And several weeks ago, Jackson County officials once again bought the whole, misleading story, voting to put local taxpayers on the hook for $61,000 for a Wildlife Services trapper for another year. At the heart of the narrative presented during the county budget hearings was the suggestion the trapper was needed due to a large number of reports of conflicts with mountain lions/cougars. Dealing with wildlife that kill livestock and pets doesn’t require Wildlife Services. As for the public safety threat, a person has a greater chance of being struck by lightning or killed by a fatal dog bite than attacked by a lion, in fact, it’s never happened in the state of Oregon. And a huge increase in lion populations is not supported by the research. Assurances were offered that killing wild animals is always a last resort, one that comes only after suitable non-lethal alternatives have been considered. Yet virtually no evidence was provided to support either of those assertions. While the county trapper may provide education on coexisting with wildlife, which we applaud, the fact is, prior to agreeing to kill “problem” animals, Wildlife Services does not require property owners to follow any of the basic animal husbandry practices that are proven to reduce conflicts with animals, including removing attractants or installing appropriate fencing. The few statistics Wildlife Services releases are often incomplete. For example, earlier this month Wildlife Services released that it had killed 2.7 million wild animals in 2014 in the US. Wildlife Services refuses to provide any further details of its operations. While claiming to deal with “hundreds of calls a year” for cougars alone, Wildlife Services’ activity report for the county during the first half of 2013 shows just a single call for a cougar. No report at all was available for the second half of 2013. The 2014 report lists only the number of each species killed and wasn’t even developed until a public records request was submitted. At a minimum, the public should know the number of calls/complaints, nature and location of the complaint, non-lethal methods tried, and method of kill. The program reports that it has “unintentionally” killed more than 50,000 animals in the US since 2000, including endangered and protected species and more than 1,100 dogs that were family pets. According to agency insiders, these numbers are actually much greater. Perhaps most troubling of all, when localities like Jackson County sign-on to the unscientific killing practices of Wildlife Services they are helping to perpetuate public support of the federal program that since 1996 has resulted in tens of millions of wild animals across the U.S. being shot, crushed in steel traps, strangled by snares and poisoned, often suffering painful and prolonged deaths, most as a “preventative” measure because they are considered undesirable by livestock producers and corporate agribusinesses. Not surprisingly, Wildlife Services has been under withering attack for many years by members of Congress, editorial boards, conservation and animal welfare organizations and wildlife ecologists, who call it a rogue program with no basis in science that has no place in modern society. Yet, Jackson County’s decision to fund a Wildlife Services trapper was made without considering non-lethal methods that work better, cost less, reduce the risk of harm to the public and pets, and benefit all county residents, including those who enjoy “watchable” wildlife. Marin County, California has demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach, adopting a non-lethal coyote co-existence program in 2000 which decreased predation by 62 percent at one-third the cost. Two years ago, Sonoma County’s Board of Supervisors opted not to renew that county’s contract with Wildlife Services. And earlier this month, Mendocino County officials decided to re-evaluate the county’s contract with Wildlife Services and consider using non-lethal methods of controlling predation. Lane County commissioners voted years ago to end their contract with Wildlife Services. Jackson County should be joining this movement, starting by demanding greater transparency and accountability from Wildlife Services and investigating proven alternatives to lethal wildlife control. To get an inside look at Wildlife Services by former staff, go to www.predatordefense.org to view the documentary EXPOSED, and go to the Center for Biological Diversity for more information at www.biologicaldiversity.org (from the home page, enter Wildlife Services in the search bar). Lin Bernhardt, former Jackson County natural resources manager, lives on a hay farm in Jackson County and raises a variety of farm animals. Amy Atwood is legal director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s endangered species program. By Lin Bernhardt and Amy Atwood MailTribune.com By Lin Bernhardt and Amy Atwood Posted May. 3, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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