Change the Kill-First Culture
Jamie Rappaport Calrk, Defenders of Wildlife
These are the tools of choice that Wildlife Services uses to kill: Spring-loaded cartridges that shoot toxic poisons into mouths; leghold traps and snares; and sharpshooters in aircraft to chase down and kill wildlife from the sky.
Over the past decade, millions of animals have met a grim fate at the hands of Wildlife Services -- but it doesn't have to be this way.
Defenders is working to reform Wildlife Services -- the federal government's top wildlife killers -- to change the "kill-first" culture.
The toll is staggering: Since 2000, Wildlife Services -- a federal program under the Department of Agriculture -- has killed millions of animals including coyotes, birds and other wildlife.
Hundreds of wolves have fallen victim to Wildlife Services' deadly methods -- including 14 wolves gunned down from the skies above Idaho's Clearwater National Forest to artificially boost game populations.
But the body count also includes tens of thousands of animals by mistake -- including family pets and rare and protected animals like wolverines and golden eagles.
For more than a decade, Defenders has been pursuing change at Wildlife Services -- and thanks to a detailed exposé in the Sacramento Bee that brought national focus on Wildlife Services' killing practices and nearly 50,000 Defenders supporters that have urged Agriculture Secretary Vilsack to reform this federal program, we're gaining important momentum.
In the coming weeks, we will be meeting with scientists and top Wildlife Services western managers to discuss reform -- an important first step in changing the culture at this federal program.
And we'll be showcasing our pioneering coexistence projects to key federal, state and local decision-makers to highlight the effective non-lethal practices that keep wildlife and livestock safe.
Your donation will help Defenders...
- Continue to expose Wildlife Services' "kill-first" mentality through media outreach, public education and grassroots mobilization;
- Pressure federal officials to reform Wildlife Services into a program that can effectively prevent and address wildlife conflicts by emphasizing non-lethal methods;
- Expand our pioneering on-the-ground coexistence work with ranchers to keep wolves and other predators out of harm's way; and
- Much more to protect our wildlife and wild places.
Together, we can help reform Wildlife Services -- and protect the wildlife and wild places you care about.
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Sincerely,
Jamie Rappaport Clark President Defenders of Wildlife |