The U.S. Department of Agriculture does a lot more than agricultural research. They fund rural economic development projects, fund food bank programs for the hungry and develop nutritional guidelines. They also oversee the division of Wildlife Services, whose mission, according to the agency website, it "to provide federal leadership and expertise to resolve wildlife conflicts to allow people and wildlife to coexist."
That translates largely to killing thousands of predators that could threaten wildlife or humans.
Locally, Monterey County is under contract to kill predators on behalf of Wildlife Services, which from June of 2014 to June of 2015 included 105 coyotes, three mountain lions and two bobcats, in addition to animals like raccoons and foxes.
A coalition of environmental groups sued Monterey County in June, alleging the county’s most recent contract with the USDA violated the California Environmental Quality Act, because it failed to include an environmental impact report on the effects that killing hundreds of predators would have on the ecosystem.
The county filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but on Oct. 12, Monterey County Superior Court Judge Lydia Villarreal ruled it would proceed. (Her written decision is expected by Oct. 21.)
Villarreal's decision to allow the lawsuit to proceed is far from a decision in favor of the plaintiffs—including Project Coyote, Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council—but Project Coyote Executive Director Camilla Fox praises the decision as a chance to win, as Project Coyote did in a similar case decided in Mendocino County where the parties settled and the county agreed to conduct an EIR. Mendocino County also agreed to sever its contract with the USDA.
In an email, Deputy County Counsel Michael Whilden says he thinks it's the USDA, rather than counties that contract with USDA, who should really be engaged in policy reform on predator killing.
"The county views this lawsuit as part of a campaign by these organizations against the USDA Wildlife Services program," Whilden writes. "Rather than suing the USDA in federal court and directly challenging the legality of their Wildlife Services program, the litigants are suing individual counties."
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Wildlife Services (WS) is known throughout the nation as a rogue agency operating with little to no oversight. They don’t care about wildlife, but are the servants of politicians and ranchers. WS killed over 1.6 million native animals in 2015. Watch the documentary, "EXPOSED--The USDA's Secret War on Wildlife"--online at the nonprofit "Predator Defense." It's 31 minutes and gives a clear picture of the atrocities that this unhinged agency has conducted. Earlier this month, a groundbreaking settlement agreement between WildEarth Guardians and was approved by the courts to stop WS from killing on six million acres of public lands in Nevada. It’s well documented that WS sadistically uses cruel and inhumane methods to trap, shoot from planes, and poisoning to kill wildlife and non-targeted animals, including domestic animals. If you don’t believe me, then check out this website: harpers dot org/archive/2016/03/the-rogue-agency/ for a very thorough exposé. Then, if you still need more proof of this very sick agency, just google the name of a WS employee, Jamie Olson, who took photos of his two dogs viciously attacking a coyote caught in one of Olson’s leg-hold traps. He then had the gall to post them, plus one of him proudly holding the coyote carcass, on his FB (taken down, but a bit too late as many people have them as evidence). Investigative reporter Tom Knudsen (Sacramento BEE) did an exposé in 2012. And NO, Olson was not fired for his deeds.
WS is a dirty secret agency that needs to be defunded and abolished immediately. If it takes lawsuits against them or against local jurisdictions that hire them, so be it. It’s a step that’s long overdue. The nonprofits that have stepped up to sue deserve awards for their great work.
If you want to see the truth on Project Coyote, check out project coyote lies dot com
It's obvious the animal rights groups are suing County by county because it's easier to bully and intimidate smaller counties that are cash strapped then to go after the USDA.
Camilla Fox of Project Coyote is no expert. The plan she takes credit for in Marin County is a complete failure for the people, the ranchers and the coyotes.
The non lethal plan costs more and provides less services than when the USDA conducted lethal control for predators like coyotes.
Ranchers were forced to switch from sheep production to cattle and poultry because of the losses created by this "non lethal" plan.
Marin County AG Commissioner Stacey Carlsen begged the Marin Board of Supervisors this Spring to reinstate the indemnification program to cover loss from predation by coyotes.
And....more coyotes, not less are being killed by ranchers since these groups pushed the USDA out of Marin County.
How ridiculous is this? Her plan has caused real economic and environmental harm but let's keep going after the USDA for their perceived harm.
Do you think any of these groups will ever take responsibility for their unintended consequences?
Nope, that burden will always fall on the taxpayer while these groups misrepresent and manipulate to put coin in their pockets.
Please see my other comments. No one is bullying anyone. WS is being sued equally and will undoubtedly face exponentially-increasing future lawsuits as evidence is gathered. If a local gov't chooses to hire a rogue agency to do its dirty work, then they are equally culpable and can expect comeuppance in the courts of law. It's well known that killing is least effective for predator population stabilization. The true "unintended consequences" are that killing only disrupts balances and actually results in INCREASED offspring, so the altercations increase as well. Killing coyotes merely makes room for more. Instead of educating themselves and using effective, well-proven, non-lethal methods to protect livestock, it becomes a matter of stupid is as stupid does, with animals paying the price with their lives.
Can you back up your claim regarding the pseudo science saying killing alpha coyotes creates more coyotes.
The only groups claiming this are animal rights groups HSUS, Project Coyote, ALDF, Wild Earth Guardians, In Defense of Wildlife, etc.
Can you find one study by a canid biologist (non activist) that supports this theory? Everyone points to the theoretical CL Model (Connelly & Longhurst 1975) to support this ) claim. Remember it's a model that doesn't include the fact that transient coyotes breed.
From: How Misinformation Fosters Human Coyote Conflict;
Connolly himself maintains that those who use the paper to oppose coyote management (i.e.,control) use it inappropriately and out of context. Connelly said “killing coyotes at rates below 75% may merely stimulate reproduction and aggravate the problem,” has “little or no relevance to selective removal of a few problem coyotes, and people who claim otherwise are just damaging their own credibility” (G. E. Connolly, pers. commun., April 2009)
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