Stop Mass Killing of Wildlife by U.S. Government

Target: Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture

Goal: Stop U.S. Wildlife Services from excessively killing wildlife using inhumane traps and snares.

Last year alone, over 1.75 million animals were killed by the Wildlife Services, an agency within the US Department of Agriculture. This means that the federally funded wildlife management program killed a shocking 200 animals per hour. The Wildlife Service agency claims that these ruthless killings are out of necessity, and that their killing of these innocent animals protects human health and livestock for agricultural output, as well as to preserve the environment from invasive species.

These animals– which include native species like gray wolves, bobcats, and black bears– are hunted down from helicopters overhead, and are forced to run for their lives as people shoot at them from above. Declines in predator populations pose serious threats to the ecosystems of which they are a part, allowing other invasive species to flourish in their absence.

Many of the methods the Wildlife Services employ are cruel and downright inhumane. For example, they commonly use poisoned bait, leg hold traps– which are banned in around 80 countries across the world–, and neck snares, all of which result in extremely painful deaths. Since these methods are often non-discriminatory in who they kill, animals that are not part of “the problem”, including dogs, bears, and foxes, and even the endangered animals– like bald eagles– they claim to protect, become carnage. This agency also nearly drove the critically endangered Mexican gray wolf to extinction.

There are much more humane solutions to this problem. We have no right to kill hundreds of thousands of animals– like red-winged blackbirds, cormorants, and cougars– simply because they pose a threat to crops and livestock. There are other measures we can take. Sign this petition to encourage Wildlife Services to stop glorifying the brutal killing of these majestic animals, and demand they find alternative solutions.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

Wildlife Services kill an overwhelming number of wildlife each and every year, with last year’s total nearing 1.75 million animals. That is roughly 200 animals killed for every hour in the day. While the agency claims that this mass culling is out of necessity, many of the animals killed are targeted simply for tampering with farmers’ profits.

Animals ranging from black birds to the near extinct Mexican gray wolf die agonizing deaths, as extremely inhumane methods of slaughter are employed. For example, animals are tricked with poisoned bait, caught in leg hold traps– which are banned in around 80 countries across the world– or neck snares. Others, still, are shot from helicopters as they run afraid for their lives. These killings have a tremendous effect on American ecosystems, and pose a threat to other non-target animals that might get caught in traps or ingest the poisoned bait.

There are alternative solutions to this problem that do not involve killing millions of innocent animals. We are asking you, Secretary Vilsack, to please take other measures to protect our livestock, and to stop killing these beautiful creatures.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: dalliedee