 |
|
|
U.S. Congress told Wildlife |
|
By the Environment News Service
The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, reviewed of the damage to crops, livestock, property, and public health and safety that wildlife may pose. The report outlines the nature and severity of threats posed by wildlife, the actions that federal wildlife managers have taken to reduce such threats, and opportunities for nonlethal methods of predator control on farms and ranches. The review was requested by the Congressional conference committee reviewing the fiscal year 2002 budget request for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Wildlife Services program, tasked with controlling damage by wildlife, primarily mammals and birds. "As the U.S. population has grown and impinged upon wildlife habitats, conflicts between wildlife and humans and their property have become increasingly common, making m modern wildlife management more challenging," the GAO reported. "Mammals and birds damage crops, forestry seedlings, and aquaculture products each year, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars," the GAO said. "In fiscal year 2000, predators (primarily coyotes) killed nearly half a million livestock - mostly lambs and calves - valued at about $70 million." "Beavers, woodchucks, and other species cause millions of dollars in damage each year to property such as roads, bridges, dams, water drainage systems and electrical utilities," the report continues. "Seemingly benign wildlife, such as deer and birds, can also sometimes be injurious. For example, accidents involving automobiles and deer result in over $1 billion in damage annually, and deer consume a wide variety of landscape, garden, and forestry shrubs, plants, and trees." The GAO found reports of about 6,000 collisions between aircraft and wildlife in 2000, noting that such collisions sometimes kill pilots and passengers, and cost the nation's air carriers almost $400 million a year. Wildlife Services "considers and applies what it believes to be the most appropriate methods - whether lethal or nonlethal - of prevention and control," the GAO said. When nonlethal controls such as fences and guard dogs fail to protect crops or livestock, Wildlife Services may recommend habitat modifications or other control methods, or capture and kill the wildlife blamed for the damages. "The Wildlife Services program spent nearly $60 million on such damage control activities in fiscal year 2000; the program provided about $23.3 million of these funds, and its clients provided the remaining $36.4 million," the GAO found. "In view of the growing controversy surrounding the use of lethal controls, Wildlife Services scientists are focusing most of their research on developing improved nonlethal control techniques." |
Washington, D.C.-- Wildlife can sometimes
pose threats to Americans and their property, a new report by the General
Accounting Office (GAO) concludes.
© 1997-2002 BEI