But they trample the area to death, compacting the soil. Grazing on riparian vegetation kills plants that would otherwise hold the streambanks together. The result is erosion that can change the stream channels themselves. Five are extinct. Many are endangered because of livestock induced water-quality changes.
Cows are vulnerable to natural predators.
This is a wildlife assassination squad that kills over 400,000 animals yearly, including coyotes, wolves, mountain lions, and bears, which may occasionally attack cows, thus diminishing the profits of welfare ranchers. Some ranchers themselves also kill animals, especially prairie dogs by the hundreds of thousands, driving them to near extinction. Over-use of water. Livestock grazing is a major threat to scarce water supplies in the West. Golf courses, suburban development, and swimming pools are already a big problem.