The conservation of native carnivores, such as wolves and coyotes, has become increasingly divisive due to the misguided belief that these animals threaten the farming industry. However, the truth is far from this assumption. The conservation of these predators plays a vital role in maintaining the delicate balance of our ecosystem.
A recent article in Newsweek caused a stir on Twitter. It showed the 4,000-mile journey of an endangered grey wolf in Canada before it was shot dead by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for allegedly killing Cattle. These shootings have no legal consequences if wolves are considered a nuisance to domestic animals.
This lack of regulation creates conflict between wildlife advocates who want to protect endangered wolves and farmers trying to protect their animals from ‘costly predators’.
How can agriculture contribute to the targeting of predators?
Agriculture indirectly contributes to targeting predators such as wolves in a few ways. The most common is the loss and fragmentation of habitat.
As more land is converted for agriculture, predators are displaced from their natural habitats making it more difficult for them to find food and shelter. Their displacement can increase conflicts as predators may be forced to prey on domestic animals when their natural prey is scarce.
In addition to habitat loss and fragmentation, agricultural practices can directly target predators. For example, some farmers may use lethal methods such as trapping, shooting, or poisoning to control predator populations and protect their livestock. This can have negative consequences, not only for the targeted predators and other non-target species that may accidentally ingest the poison or get caught in traps.
The impact of predator killings on wildlife
Recently, three groups in Montana sued the US Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Service over their ‘predator killing program’. This kills or removes native predators in the state. According to the conservation groups, this program recently approved new predator control efforts, is not based on science and leaves the issue largely unregulated.
According to the Wildlife Services, a division of the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), 1.75 million animals were killed/euthanised in 2021 in the US alone.
The number of wild animals killed has remained steady. n average of 2.09 million animals were killed yearly in the previous five, most of which were killed intentionally. Those numbers include thousands of predators, such as bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, hawks, cougars and wolves.
Although a US District Court ruling in Oakland, California marked wolves as endangered last year, this has not curbed the killing of these animals.
Killing predators leads to more conflict and deaths.
The Humane Society has stated that the ‘killing of coyotes does not reduce coyote populations’. When aggressively controlled, coyotes can increase their reproductive rate by breeding earlier and having larger litters, with a higher survival rate among the young.
Furthermore, the most common devices used to capture coyotes are cruel and inhumane. In places like Ottawa, coyotes have been found missing a paw or with soft-catch devices on their leg.
On the other hand, a U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services report issued in January 2021 suggested that ‘the killing of wolves was unnecessary if the right measures were taken responsibly’. Wolves tend to be attracted by ‘poorly buried’ livestock, and according to the report, there was no depredation at farms with adequate carcass disposal.
Other data has confirmed that the killing of wolves triggers more depredation activity. Predation was 3.5 times higher in zones where the shootings took place.
One of the main reasons for the increase in predation in world packs is that killing one or both alpha wolves upsets the group dynamics – pups cannot hunt alone, resulting in older siblings turning to easier meals.
Disastrous for the entire ecosystem.
Our global food system is the primary driver of biodiversity loss. Agriculture is the primary threat to 86 per cent of species at risk of extinction.
The place of wolves as the top predator in the food chain contributes to a richer animal and plant life. According to Michelle Lute, the Project Coyote Carnivore Conservation director, ‘apex predators influence every level of the food web, increase species from beavers to birds and even create healthy heterogeneity in soil nutrients’.
So why isn’t the US government doing something to stop it?
In the US, tens of thousands of dollars of compensation have been paid to farmers from a state fund that pays for wolf and coyotes losses.
These killings will likely continue as long as farms get paid for losses.
Another approach is implementing wildlife-friendly and regenerative farming practices promoting habitat restoration and connectivity. This can include leaving land areas uncultivated to provide habitat for wildlife and planting hedgerows and other vegetation corridors to connect fragmented habitats.
It is time to stop conducting damaging practices in the guise of farmed animal protection when the reality shows that only a few benefit from it. We can create a more sustainable future for agriculture and wildlife by working together to protect predator species and their habitats.