Aerial Assault on Wildlife Gains Scrutiny

Lawsuit Gets Feds to Watch Practice

Additional Contact:

Ashley Wilmes | WildEarth Guardians | 303-573-4898, Ext. 1304  awilmes@wildearthguardians.org

DENVER — This week, WildEarth Guardians settled a lawsuit with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after the agency finally produced reports that Guardians requested under the Freedom of Information Act related to the aerial killing of wildlife.

The Airborne Hunting Act, which generally prohibits aerial gunning, allows States to issue certain aerial gunning permits for the killing of wildlife, but States must submit annual reports to the Service detailing to whom the permits issued were issued and the species and numbers of animals killed. Alaska and many Western and Midwestern states liberally allow the aerial gunning of wildlife.  

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to scrutinize aerial gunning in America for a least one decade,” stated Wendy Keefover, Director of Carnivore Protection for WildEarth Guardians.  “We were forced to bring an action in federal court under the Freedom of Information Act after months of delay by the agency which had difficulty locating and providing the aerial gunning reports it should have had readily at hand.”

FWS finally produced annual reports from twelve states, including Alaska, New Mexico, and Wyoming, from 2004 through 2010.  However, FWS did not have reports from other states, such as California, that had allowed aerial gunning during this time.

“Part of the problem is that States are not filing the required annual reports,” said Ashley Wilmes, attorney for WildEarth Guardians.  “By failing to collect and keep track of the reports, the Service is not monitoring the practice of aerial gunning under the Airborne Hunting Act.”

“This heinous practice has been virtually unmonitored for over a decade, meanwhile hundreds of wolves, thousands of coyotes, and numerous other species are killed for spurious purpose,” Keefover added.

According to the reports procured by Guardians, Alaska issued permits that resulted in the killing of 111 wolves by aerial gunning in 2009.  In 2010, 2,339 coyotes were killed through aerial gunning permits issued by South Dakota.  And in 2010, Texas issued aerial gunning permits that resulted in the killing of 2,024 coyote, 14,811 feral hogs, and 1,204 unidentified exotic species.

As a result of the lawsuit, the Service is now sending a letter to all States in 2012 to notify them of their reporting requirements under the Airborne Hunting Act.

As of 2010, Guardians has documented 129 accidents such as pilots flying into power lines and trees; gunners shooting their own engines; and plummeting into their own turbulence when doubling back.

The vast majority of aerial gunning takes place as part of a $126 million federal agency called Wildlife Services, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

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Learn about Aerial Gunning; View Crash Summaries and Photos

See WildEarth Guadians’ Call to End the War on Wildlife

 See Predation Data for Domestic Livestock

Two Federal Agencies Count Livestock Losses Differently in Wolf Country

 


 

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