Legislative Action

February 16, 2011 -- House Amendment 561 -- Congressman Peters (Mich.), through House Amendment 561, has proposed cutting USDA APHIS Wildlife Services (WS) funding and prohibiting the use of lethal predator damage management (PDM) methods. The focus is to eliminate lethal control activities that are part of WS’ Integrated Wildlife Damage Management (IWDM) approach.

     Wildlife Services Response to HR Amendment 561

CALL TO ACTION -- PLEASE TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION

Please contact your House members and request that they actively oppose Representative Peters’ (D-MI) amendment (No. 561) to the FY 2011 Continuing Resolution when it comes to the floor for consideration as early as February 17th.

This amendment seeks to restrict funding and operations of USDA’s Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Wildlife Services (WS), which jeopardizes management of wildlife conflicts with human health and safety, animal disease management and production of food on family farms and ranches.

Wildlife causes over $12.8 billion in damage a year to natural resources, public infrastructures, private property and agriculture. WS works to prevent, minimize or manage this damage, and to protect human health and safety from conflicts with wildlife. Livestock losses to predation are estimated to be $18.3 million in the sheep industry and $51 million in the cattle industry. In the absence of effective predation management tools, these losses would increase multiple times and force farmers and ranchers to abandon their livelihoods.

This amendment would also put cooperative funds supplied by states and local governments for Wildlife Services’ operations in jeopardy. WS is one of the few federal programs that have been consistently funded by 50 percent federal money and 50 percent cooperative money. In FY2007, $56 million in cooperator dollars went to Wildlife Services while the remaining of the $117 million budget was funded through federal appropriations. The majority of WS’ budget – 43 percent – is spent on protecting human health and safety.

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Following are the joint letters sent to the chairs of the Agricultural Appropriations Subcommitees of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. The best use of these letters is to share them with the members of the congressional delegation in your state and ask for their active support in seeking livestock protection funds.

2011 Letters of Support for Wildlife Services

Eastern Region
   House of Representatives -- Democratic Leader -- [PDF Copy of Letter]
   House of Representatives -- Republican Leader -- [PDF Copy of Letter]
   U.S. Senate -- Democratic Leader -- [PDF Copy of Letter]
   U.S. Senate -- Republican Leader -- [PDF Copy of Letter]

Western Region
   House of Representatives -- Democratic Leader -- [PDF Copy of Letter]
   House of Representatives -- Republican Leader -- [PDF Copy of Letter]
   U.S. Senate -- Democratic Leader -- [PDF Copy of Letter]
   U.S. Senate -- Republican Leader -- [PDF Copy of Letter]

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2009 Joint Wildlife Services Letter of Support - 84 agricultural organizations signed on to this letter supporting the efforts of the Wildlife Services Agency in both the East and the West.