that’s an often overlooked part of animal agriculture.
did you know that there is a government agency in the US, WildLife Services, whose job it is to kill wild animals, mostly to protect the interests of ranchers? that’s tax payer money. i won’t comment on the justifiability of their practices, those sorts of judgments are difficult, but it’s worth knowing they exist.
Wildlife Services is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and it specializes in killing wild animals that threaten livestock—especially predators such as coyotes, wolves, and cougars. Outside the ranching community, few have heard of Wildlife Services.
Since 2000, the agency has killed at least two million mammals and 15 million birds. Although it’s main focus is predator control in the West, Wildlife Services also does things like bird control nationwide at airports to prevent crashes and feral pig control in the South.