The Livestock

Protection Collar

Coyotes are the leading cause of predation losses in

the sheep and goat industry. The livestock protection

collar (LPC) is a wildlife damage management tool

used by the Wildlife Services (WS) program of the

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to protect

sheep and goats in fenced pastures from depredating

coyotes. The collar is the most selective method

available to manage coyote predation on sheep and

goats and can only be used by certified pesticide

applicators. The LPC is a very selective management tool because only the coyote attacking the

sheep or goat is killed.

The LPC is registered by the Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA), and WS personnel who use

it must be certified in its use through the State pesticide regulatory agency. Certified WS applicators

must follow all label directions and use restrictions

set forth by the EPA when using the LPC.

The collar is one of many tools available to WS

for predator management. WS uses an integrated

wildlife damage management approach to reduce or

prevent wildlife damage. In selecting control 

techniques for specific wildlife damage situations, WS

personnel consider the species responsible, the 

frequency, and the extent of the damage. In addition

to damage confirmation and assessment, consideration is also given to the status of the species, local

environmental conditions, environmental impacts, and

other factors. Then these factors are evaluated and

used in formulating management strategies that may

include the application of one or more damage 

management techniques.

LPC Mode of Operation

The LPC consists of two small rubber bladders

containing 15 ml each of Compound 1080 (sodium

flouroacetate), placed under the throat of a sheep or

goat, and held in place with VelcroTM straps. When a

coyote attacks a collared animal and bites the throat

where the LPC is positioned, the coyote receives a

dose of Compound 1080 in the mouth.

Sodium flouroacetate is a naturally occurring

organic fluorine compound extracted from the West

African plant “ratbane” (Dichapetalum toxicarium).

WS currently uses less than 4 tablespoons of the

compound nationwide each year. It works by blocking the krebs cycle, the major mechanism for releasing energy from food. Within 5 hours of receiving a

dose in the mouth, the coyote will die a painless

death from cardiac failure or central nervous system

failure.

Environmentally Safe

Sodium fluoroacetate is a chemically stable, nonvolatile compound and is relatively insoluble in most

organic solvents. Should sodium flouroacetate spill

to the soil during a predator attack, the compound is

degraded by soil microorganisms. Most soils contain

a microbial population that is sufficiently varied and

abundant to result in degradation of any sodium fluoroacetate that spills to the soil. Accumulation of the

toxicant in plants is limited, as plants produce

enzymes capable of degrading sodium fluoroacetate.

The toxic contents of LPCs are dyed yellow and

easily detected when spilled. Affected soil can be

scooped up with a shovel according to the directions

on the pesticide label. However, should a spill go

undetected, it will be degraded in the soil.

Nontarget Hazards

WS employees use their expertise in animal

behavior patterns and biology to determine the risk to

nontarget animals. When WS employees recommend using LPCs for a particular situation, the risk to

nontarget animals must be determined, as directed in

the WS decision model.

Secondary poisonings do not occur because

after coyotes ingest the sodium flouroacetate in the

LPC, their carcasses contain only nontoxic, trace levels of the compound.

Species vary considerably in their response to

sodium flouroacetate, with primates and birds the

least sensitive and carnivores the most susceptible.

Fish show no sensitivity to the toxicant.

In research conducted by WS, scavenger species

were given tissues from coyotes killed with sodium

flouroacetate to eat and showed no negative effect.

Livestock carcasses contaminated with the toxicant in its raw form on the wool or hair near punctured collars may pose a risk to scavengers.

However, in research studies with dogs, skunks,

magpies, and eagles that were allowed to feed on

contaminated carcasses, these species were not

adversely affected because they would not eat the

contaminated wool or hair.

Factsheet

 	
 
	 

APHIS
Wildlife Services Program

A Federal service program that shares costs with

cooperators, WS is authorized by Congress to manage wildlife damage as stated in the Act of March 2,

1931.

The employees of WS recognize that wildlife is an

important public resource greatly valued by the

American people, and they conduct their wildlife damage management programs accordingly.

Additional Information

For more information about this and other WS

programs or to find out how to request assistance

from your WS State office, contact the WS

Operational Support Staff at (301) 734–7921 or write

to:

USDA, APHIS, WS

4700 River Road

Unit 87

Riverdale, MD 20737 

You can also find information on WS programs by

visiting our Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ws.

United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination

in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national

origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to

all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative

means for communication of program information (Braille, large

print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at

(202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of

Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call (202) 720–5964

(voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and

employer.