Effects of Wildlife

Services on Predator

Populations

The Wildlife Services (WS) program, part of the U.S.

Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service (APHIS), helps alleviate

wildlife damage to agricultural, urban, and natural

resources. WS also addresses wildlife threats to

public health and safety and conducts activities to

protect endangered and threatened species from

predators.

Predator Damage

WS believes that predators are necessary components of ecosystems and play an important part in

the environment. However, in some situations, these

animals prey on livestock, endangered species, and

pets or pose a threat to human health and safety.

The most significant predators of livestock are 

coyotes, foxes, bears, mountain lions, and bobcats.

Coyotes are responsible for more damage than all

other predators combined.

Each year, predators kill millions of dollars’ worth

of lambs, calves, and goats. Losses of pigs and

poultry are also significant. Some predators, such as

black bears, can also damage agricultural crops and

timber stands. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics

Service documented a $19.9 million loss of sheep

and goats to predators in 1999, while losses to cattle

producers in 2000 exceeded $51.6 million.

In addition to agricultural damage, predators

sometimes pose a threat to human health and safety.

At the request of Federal and State agencies, WS

relocates or removes black bears, mountain lions,

and coyotes from campgrounds and other public

areas where they pose a threat to human safety. WS’

continuing goal in the area of human health and safety is to help educate the public on how to live with

wildlife and avoid interactions with predators and wild

animals that may be carrying rabies or other contagious diseases.

Predators can also threaten endangered species.

In California, foxes have killed endangered least terns

and light-footed clapper rails, and coyotes prey on the

endangered San Joaquin kit fox. Arctic foxes in

Alaska have killed endangered Aleutian Canada

geese. Other threatened or endangered species

affected by predators include Attwater’s greater

prairie chickens, blackfooted ferrets, and Perdido Key

beach mice.

Factsheet

Wildlife Services October 2001

APHIS

Mountain lion
Responsible Management of Predation

The goal of the WS program is to manage the 

damage caused by wildlife, not to eradicate wildlife

populations. Upon request, WS wildlife professionals

implement or recommend effective management

methods to alleviate or minimize predation. WS

employees strive to remove only the predators that

are causing the damage. To accomplish this goal,

they direct control methods at only the specific animal

or local wildlife population in the area where damage

has occurred. The WS program operates in accordance with its programwide Environmental Impact

Statement, local environmental assessments and

workplans, and Federal, State, and local laws and

regulations, including the National Environmental

Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the

Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Estimates of predator populations by State fish and

game officials indicate that the number of predators

removed by WS is small compared with overall 

predator numbers. Lethal control efforts of WS 

professionals typically remove less than 5 percent of a

species’ overall population. In many situations, the

number of animals removed amounts to less than 1

percent of their total population. This amount is considerably less than the number of animals taken by

hunters and trappers annually. The USDA’s extension

service, APHIS’ National Wildlife Research Center,

and the Federal Government’s General Accounting

Office confirm that lethal controls used by WS do not

unduly threaten the well-being of Statewide predator

populations.

Additional Information

You may obtain further information about the 

services of WS from any State APHIS, WS office. For

the address and telephone number in your area, call

the WS Operational Support Staff at (301) 734–7921.

You can also find information on WS programs by visiting our Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ws.

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

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.

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

Black bear