I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4819
To amend the Wildlife Services Program of the Department of Agriculture
to emphasize the use of nonlethal methods of predator control for live-
stock protection and to target assistance under the program to operators
of small farms and ranches through grants, training, and research re-
garding the use of nonlethal methods to predator control.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 10, 2000
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To amend the Wildlife Services Program of the Department
of Agriculture to emphasize the use of nonlethal methods
of predator control for livestock protection and to target
assistance under the program to operators of small farms
and ranches through grants, training, and research re-
garding the use of nonlethal methods to predator control.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL FARM AND RANCH OP-
ERATORS TO USE NONLETHAL MEANS OF
PREDATOR 
CONTROL 
UNDER 
WILDLIFE
SERVICES PROGRAM FOR LIVESTOCK PRO-
TECTION.
Section 2 of the Act of March 2, 1931 (7 U.S.C.
426a), is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL FARM AND RANCH OPER-
ATORS TO USE NONLETHAL MEANS OF PRED-
ATOR CONTROL FOR LIVESTOCK PROTEC-
TION.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) LETHAL PREDATOR CONTROL.—The term
‘‘lethal predator control’’ means a lethal method to
control the population of a wild animal that preys on
domestic livestock or otherwise interferes with live-
stock operations, including such methods as aerial
gunning, 
shooting, 
denning, 
leghold 
trapping,
conibear trapping, neck and body snaring, and poi-
soning.
‘‘(2) NONLETHAL
PREDATOR
CONTROL.—The
term ‘‘nonlethal predator control’’ means a method
to prevent, or reduce the likelihood of, a wild animal
preying on domestic livestock or otherwise inter-
fering with livestock operations that does not involve
the destruction of the animal, including such meth-
ods as the use of livestock herders, dogs, burros, or
llamas to guard livestock, night penning of livestock,
and improved fencing.
‘‘(3) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’
means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of
the Department of Agriculture.
‘‘(4) SMALL
RANCH
OPERATION.—The term
‘‘small ranch operation’’ means a farm or ranch that
generates not more than $250,000 in gross revenues
annually, as determined by the Secretary.
‘‘(5) WILDLIFE SERVICES PROGRAM.—The term
‘‘Wildlife Services Program’’ means the activities au-
thorized by the first section of this Act.
‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE RESTRICTED TO SMALL RANCH
OPERATIONS.—In carrying out Wildlife Services Program
operations designed to protect livestock and livestock oper-
ations from wild animals injurious to animal husbandry,
the Secretary shall restrict those operations to small ranch
operations that the Secretary determines—
‘‘(1) involve the raising of the types of livestock
most at risk to damage from wild animals; and
‘‘(2) are located in those areas where the need
for predator control is greatest, rather than those
areas where predator control has traditionally oc-
curred.
‘‘(c) EMPHASIS ON NONLETHAL PREDATOR CON-
TROL.—The Secretary shall emphasize the use of non-
lethal predator control methods, rather than lethal pred-
ator control methods, as the preferred way to protect live-
stock and livestock operations under the Wildlife Services
Program.
‘‘(d) GRANTS TO IMPLEMENT NONLETHAL PRED-
ATOR CONTROL.—Using funds made available for Wildlife
Services Program operations, the Secretary shall make
grants to operators of small ranch operations and associa-
tions composed primarily of operators of small ranch oper-
ations to assist an operator or association to implement
and use nonlethal predator control to prevent, or reduce
the likelihood of, wild animals preying on livestock or oth-
erwise interfering with livestock operations.
‘‘(e) TRAINING
AND
TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE.—
Using funds made available for Wildlife Services Program
operations, the Secretary shall provide operators of small
ranch operations with training and technical assistance re-
garding the availability of nonlethal predator control op-
tions and the use of nonlethal predator control in their
livestock operations.
‘‘(f) RESEARCH.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con-
duct research, directly or through grants with appro-
priate entities, to determine the following:
‘‘(A) The extent of the damage to livestock
and livestock operations, particularly in western
States, resulting from the depredations of pred-
atory and other wild animals.
‘‘(B) The environmental consequences of
conducting Wildlife Services Program oper-
ations, particularly lethal predator control, to
prevent or reduce predator damage to livestock
and livestock operations.
‘‘(C) The effectiveness of lethal predator
control and nonlethal predator control under
the Wildlife Services Program to protect live-
stock and livestock operations.
‘‘(D) The overall populations of specific
wildlife and predatory species on a regional,
rather than State-by-State basis, with emphasis
given to monitoring viable wildlife populations.
‘‘(2) INFORMATION ON SHEEP LOSSES.—As one
of the research projects conducted under paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall enter into agreements with
wool producers or other appropriate entities in not
more than 12 sheep-raising districts in the western
States, with varying degrees of predation problems,
to promptly report sheep losses to predators in order
to more accurately determine the extent to which
predatory animals cause damage to the wool indus-
try despite the use of, or in the absence of, lethal
predator control and nonlethal predator control.
‘‘(3) ANNUAL
REPORT.—The Secretary shall
submit to Congress an annual report describing the
results of the research projects conducted under this
subsection.
‘‘(4) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use funds
made available for Wildlife Services Program oper-
ations to carry out this subsection.’’.
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