![]() ![]() “The feral cattle in the Gila Wilderness have been aggressive towards wilderness visitors, graze year-round, and trample stream banks and springs, causing erosion and sedimentation. “This has been a difficult decision, but the lethal removal of feral cattle from the Gila Wilderness is necessary to protect public safety, threatened and endangered species habitats, water quality, and the natural character of the Gila Wilderness,” Camille Howes, the Gila National Forest supervisor, said in a press release. 8, the Forest Service issued an impound notice informing ranchers that they should move their cattle off of the range in the area where the feral cattle are roaming. The Forest Service initiated a public comment period in November that closed in January regarding the aerial shooting. In the press release, Loren Patterson, the organization’s president, described the aerial shooting as a “Band-aid” solution that will not result in long-term population control. Forest Service for more than a year and even filed a lawsuit last year that resulted in a settlement. ![]() The New Mexico Cattle Growers Association has been in talks with the U.S. “Contracted cowboys are further regulated for the miles traveled on their horses used to complete their task, only able to pack in and feed their equine counterparts weed seed free hay.” “It has been duly noted that proper compensation for such work has been sorely undervalued and the obstacles for such work to be accomplished were too strenuous under the requirements of a Wilderness Area, where motorized vehicles and equipment requiring fuel or electric power are strictly prohibited,” the press release states. In a press release, the organization called for pens, fencing and roads in the wilderness to allow the cattle to be rounded up in “vast and rugged topography.” This would allow for feed to be placed in the pens and, once the feral cattle are comfortable entering them, the gates would be closed behind them. ![]() The New Mexico Cattle Growers Association also opposes the shooting of cattle, which the organization describes as inhumane. She said cows were killed and their orphaned calves were left out as food for predators. ![]() Those carcasses were left to rot on the floor of that forest,” she said.Įzzell said she has seen photographs of cattle that had their legs shot out from under them or were shot in the eyes. “It sickens me that these cattle that were shot, not all of them were killed. The lethal methods involve having people in helicopters shoot the cattle from the air, which opponents say is cruel and robs the state of the proceeds that could be generated from the sale of the cattle.Įzzell described the cattle that were shot last year during a similar removal effort. Forest Service opposing the lethal removal of feral cattle. Candy Ezzell, R-Roswell, requested that the House of Representatives send a letter to the U.S. While opponents to the aerial shooting say that the cattle can be rounded up and auctioned off, Schulke said that is an expensive process that would cost more than the beef is worth.īut the proposal has also drawn backlash from lawmakers as well as cattle ranchers. Last year’s shooting of cattle also proved to be a more cost-effective way of reducing the population in a short period of time, he said. He said the ultimate goal of the cattle shooting is to create cleaner water and healthier ecosystems. “They should be able to make a huge dent in the remaining herd,” he said. This year, Schulke said, the contractors could be out for more than a week. He explained that last year the contractors spent less than two days flying over the Gila and shooting cattle. Todd Schulke, co-founder of Center for Biological Diversity, said he believes this year’s effort will be more successful at making a dent in the feral cow population than last year’s shooting. “We are very grateful that the feral cattle removal is proceeding so that the water and land can begin to heal.”Ī similar removal of feral cattle occurred last year. “Unowned and unmanaged cattle have already caused far too much damage to the Gila River and the forest,” said Donna Stevens, Executive Director of the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, in a press release. The plans to remove cattle from the Gila Wilderness using both lethal and non-lethal methods come as the growing herd of feral cattle has damaged riparian ecosystems in the wilderness area. Forest Service is once again planning to remove the feral cattle from the Gila Wilderness by shooting them from helicopters. ![]()
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