{"id":1573,"date":"2014-12-24T14:07:45","date_gmt":"2014-12-24T22:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/?page_id=1573"},"modified":"2016-07-13T03:16:04","modified_gmt":"2016-07-13T11:16:04","slug":"criminal-government","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/learn-more\/criminal-government\/","title":{"rendered":"Criminal Government"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Wildlife Services &#8211; Rogue Agency<\/h1>\n<p>Learn from congressman and those who work(ed) for the agency.<br \/>\n<iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qSV8pRLkdKI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a name=\"wildlifeKills\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h1>Which states kill our wildlife most?<\/h1>\n<p>For Immediate Release, June 29, 2016 ~ Article belongs to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biologicaldiversity.org\/news\/press_releases\/2016\/wildlife-services-06-29-2016.html\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Biological Diversity<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Contact: Michael Robinson, (575) 313-7017, michaelr@biologicaldiversity.org<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"headline\" align=\"center\"><strong>Texas<\/strong>, <strong>Oregon<\/strong>, <strong>Minnesota<\/strong>, <strong>California<\/strong> Top List of States Where Most<br \/>\nBlack Bears, Mountain Lions, Wolves Killed by USDA&#8217;s Wildlife Services in 2015<\/p>\n<p class=\"headline\" align=\"center\"><strong><i>New Map Shows Kill Data in All States<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2561\" style=\"width: 772px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/center.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/Viewer\/index.html?appid=44614b641a684cc19b5800812bc93fe0http:\/\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2561\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2561\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2561\" src=\"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/mapStateKills.png\" alt=\"Interactive map - Wildlife kills by state\" width=\"762\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/mapStateKills.png 762w, http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/mapStateKills-300x163.png 300w, http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/mapStateKills-624x338.png 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 762px) 100vw, 762px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2561\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Interactive map &#8211; Wildlife kills by state<\/p><\/div>\n<p>WASHINGTON\u2014 Texas, Oregon, Minnesota and California are the states where the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Wildlife Services killed the most black bears, mountain lions, wolves and bobcats in 2015, according to a new Center for Biological Diversity analysis. The secretive federal program <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aphis.usda.gov\/wildlife_damage\/pdr\/PDR-G_Report.php?fld=&amp;fld_val=\" target=\"_blank\">killed 3.2 million animals<\/a> throughout the nation last year, mostly on behalf of the livestock industry and other agribusinesses.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>View an <a href=\"http:\/\/center.maps.arcgis.com\/apps\/Viewer\/index.html?appid=44614b641a684cc19b5800812bc93fe0\" target=\"_blank\">interactive map<\/a> of state-by-state 2014 and 2015 Wildlife Services kill data for black bears, mountain lions, wolves and bobcats, four key species of carnivores.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite increasing calls for an end to the senseless slaughter of our wildlife it continues unchecked with no oversight,\u201d said Michael Robinson of the Center. \u201cThis outdated, shortsighted killing scheme defies reason and science \u2014 when Wildlife Services massacred more than 600 bobcats and almost 17,000 coyotes in Texas last year it simply increased the number of rodents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Wildlife Services also killed 23 mountain lions in Texas last year even though the number of these big cats in the state may be declining and a border wall now separates Lone Star cougars from those in Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Oregon also made the shortlist of states in which Wildlife Services kills rare carnivores, largely on the basis of the killing of 193 black bears and 91 mountain lions. While mountain lions are killed on behalf of the livestock industry, black bears die because timber companies resent that they sometimes strip the bark off trees to feed on insects or sap.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In California, Wildlife Services killed 121 bears, 80 mountain lions and 15 bobcats.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota led the field in the number of wolves killed by Wildlife Services last year: 220. The agency killed 70 wolves in Idaho, 54 in Wyoming and 31 in Montana.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Wolves remain on the endangered species list in Wyoming, though with a loophole allowing for their destruction on behalf of the livestock industry, and are a \u2018threatened\u2019 species in Minnesota.<br \/>\n\u201cIt\u2019s repugnant that taxpayers throughout the country have to pay for the cruel destruction of animals on behalf of special interests,\u201d said Robinson. \u201cWildlife Services resists reform and day by day is proving its incompatibility with conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Background<\/b><br \/>\nUSDA\u2019s Wildlife Services program began in 1915 when Congress appropriated $125,000 to the Bureau of Biological Survey for \u201cdestroying wolves, coyotes, and other animals injurious to agriculture and animal husbandry\u201d on national forests and other public lands.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>By the 1920s scientists and fur trappers were robustly criticizing the Biological Survey\u2019s massive poisoning of wildlife, and in response, in 1928, the program officially renounced \u201cextermination\u201d as its goal. Nevertheless it proceeded to exterminate wolves, grizzly bears, black-footed ferrets and other animals from most of their remaining ranges in the years to follow. The program was blocked from completely exterminating these species through the 1973 passage of the Endangered Species Act.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In 1997, after several other name changes, the deceptive name \u201cWildlife Services\u201d was inaugurated in place of \u201cBiological Survey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><i>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biologicaldiversity.org\/news\/press_releases\/2016\/wildlife-services-06-29-2016.html\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Biological Diversity<\/a> is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Email\",\"Print\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_twitter_via = \"PawsNationUS\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"PawsNationUS\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wildlife Services &#8211; Rogue Agency Learn from congressman and those who work(ed) for the agency. Which states kill our wildlife most? For Immediate Release, June 29, 2016 ~ Article belongs to the Center for Biological Diversity Contact: Michael Robinson, (575) 313-7017, michaelr@biologicaldiversity.org &nbsp; Texas, Oregon, Minnesota, California Top List of States Where Most Black Bears, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Email\",\"Print\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_twitter_via = \"PawsNationUS\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_twitter_via=\"PawsNationUS\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1499,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1573"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1573"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2579,"href":"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1573\/revisions\/2579"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pawsacrossthenation.org\/pawsTalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}