Dear Guardian,

The White House is currently seeking public feedback on federal agencies that are ripe for reform or elimination. Though we strongly support nearly all federal agencies, this is an opportunity to say loud and clear: it’s time to end taxpayer-funded wildlife killing. The federal wildlife killing program ironically called “Wildlife Services” should serve wildlife and taxpayers, not Big Ag!

While the services of most federal agencies are extremely valuable, Wildlife Services and its killing campaigns, animal body counts and bloodshed should be relegated to the past. Wildlife Services spends over $120 million of your tax dollars to kill over 1.5 million native animals each year.

From imperiled Canada lynx and wolves to companion animals and people recreating on our public lands, no one is safe from the cruel, indiscriminate traps, poisons and snares Wildlife Services deploys.

You have until June 12 to submit your thoughts on reforming Wildlife Services. The process is slightly cumbersome so please click on this link and follow these instructions:

For the required fields, choose in this order:

1. Department of Agriculture: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

2. NONE

3. Copy/paste or adapt this text:

The Wildlife Services program within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an ineffective use of taxpayer dollars and should be fundamentally reformed. Please end Wildlife Services’ lethal control of native wildlife. Wildlife Services’ use of cruel and indiscriminate traps, snares, poisons and aerial gunning risks the lives of people, companion animals and imperiled native wildlife. For instance, Wildlife Services uses M-44 sodium cyanide bombs, scattering them across our public and private lands. In March a cyanide bomb placed near a residential neighborhood in Idaho months after Wildlife Services claimed it had ceased their use in that state poisoned a boy and killed his dog. At least four other tragedies with M-44 poisonings occurred since March of this year. Sodium cyanide is considered a potential terrorism weapon by the Department of Homeland Security. It has no place on our public lands.

Ending these wasteful practices will greatly serve the White House’s stated effort of “making the Federal government more efficient, effective, and accountable to … the American people.” Wildlife Services' budget is over $120 million. Reforming the program to use effective, nonlethal methods will save taxpayer dollars and better serve American citizens, agricultural interests and wildlife managed in the public trust.

4. NONE 

5. NONE 

6. N/A

7. Add your contact info

Let’s demand an end to barbaric, outdated and inhumane practices and make our public lands safe havens for wildlife, people and our companion animals.

For the wild,

 

Bethany Cotton
Wildlife Program Director
WildEarth Guardians
bcotton@wildearthguardians.org

photo: Sam Parks