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University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

Articles 1 - 17 of 17

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Indirect Effects Of Carnivores On Livestock Foraging Behavior And Production, Larry D. Howery, Thomas J. Deliberto Oct 2004

Indirect Effects Of Carnivores On Livestock Foraging Behavior And Production, Larry D. Howery, Thomas J. Deliberto

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

Direct effects of predation (i.e., killing of animals) can result in significant economic losses to livestock producers. A recent publication by the USDA, Wildlife Services (2002) identified the following losses: (1) livestock losses attributed to predators, predominantly coyotes (Canis latrans), reach about $71 million annually; (2) cattle and calf losses to predators in the United States totaled 147,000 head during 2000. A National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) study valued these losses at $51.6 million; (3) sheep and lamb losses to predators in the United States totaled 273,000 in 1999. A NASS study valued these losses at $16.5 million; (4) In …

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Coyote In The Edwards Plateau Of Texas — An Update, Gary Nunley Oct 2004

Coyote In The Edwards Plateau Of Texas — An Update, Gary Nunley

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

In the early 1900s, organized predator control was initiated to remove coyotes and wolves from the sheep- and goat-producing areas of Texas. Operations were begun in the Edwards Plateau, the largest area of sheep concentration. The Edwards Plateau and, to a lesser extent, portions of other adjoining ecological areas presently account for 18% (1.2 million head) of the sheep and lambs and 85% (1.2 million head) of the goats in the United States (Texas Agriculture Statistics Service, 2004). These numbers are down in both actual numbers and as a percent of the national flocks. It is important that the industries …

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Non-Lethal Alternatives For Predation Management, John A. Shivik Oct 2004

Non-Lethal Alternatives For Predation Management, John A. Shivik

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

The ethical milieu in which wildlife biologists and livestock producers work continues to change as the concepts of environmentalism and animal rights and welfare have become introduced and normalized (Singer, 1975). The American public, including livestock producers, are mired within a typically human psychological quagmire of having a high demand for benefit, but a low tolerance for cost — that is, economic forces. Americans tend to demand a cheap, reliable food supply, while simultaneously demanding the existence of animals that, through predation activities, drive up production costs. Ironically, members of the urban public who may find fault with food and …

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Predation And Livestock Production: Perspective And Overview, Maurice Shelton Oct 2004

Predation And Livestock Production: Perspective And Overview, Maurice Shelton

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

1. Predation is a more serious problem for the livestock industry than most people realize unless they are somehow involved. This problem is almost certain to increase due to the dispersal of feral or wild hogs throughout the country and the expanding range of the reintroduced grey wolf.

2. Because predator species do not respect property or political boundaries, it is important that control efforts be conducted on a national, state or regional basis. At present, these efforts are carried out by the USDA-APHIS Wildlife Service Programs in cooperation with state agencies and livestock producers. Possibly some type of zoning …

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Direct, Spillover, And Intangible Benefits Of Predation Management, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Mike J. Bodenchuk Oct 2004

Direct, Spillover, And Intangible Benefits Of Predation Management, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Mike J. Bodenchuk

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

Predation management is a controversial and often misunderstood reality of livestock management. Few on either side of the argument would believe that some sort of management is not necessary to limit livestock losses. Opposition to the lethal removal of predators characterizes most debates. While most of the opposition reflects a moral opinion about the manner in which people relate to the natural world, opponents of lethal control often argue that control is not economically justified.

Simple economic justification would require that benefits of predation management outweigh the costs. If the only goal of predation management were to be economically efficient, …

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Status And Management Of Coyote Depredations In The Eastern United States, John M. Houben Oct 2004

Status And Management Of Coyote Depredations In The Eastern United States, John M. Houben

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

The populations of coyotes (Canis latrans) have increased dramatically in the eastern United States since the early 1900s (Hilton, 1978; Chambers, 1987; Hill et al., 1987; Witmer and Hayden 1992). The expansion of the coyote range into eastern North America has been summarized by Parker (1995) and characterized as two distinct geographical events: 1) the northern front moving across southern Ontario and the Great Lakes region and 2) the southern front colonizing the southeastern United States from Arkansas and Louisiana. These two fronts expanded throughout the northeastern and southeastern United States during the 1960s and 1970s, finally converging …

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Selective Targeting Of Alpha Coyotes To Stop Sheep Depredation, M. M. Jaeger Oct 2004

Selective Targeting Of Alpha Coyotes To Stop Sheep Depredation, M. M. Jaeger

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

Research to find more effective and socially acceptable solutions of managing coyote (Canis latrans) depredation has been ongoing for many years. The primary objective is to develop strategies that effectively reduce losses, not simply reduce coyote numbers. An important step in solving such conflicts is to clearly define the problem. In this case, it is important to know which coyotes are most likely to kill sheep and when and where their depredation is greatest. For a control strategy to be effective, it must be appropriate to these three defining characteristics. The hardest of these questions to resolve has been determining …

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Economic Impact Of Sheep Predation In The United States, Keithly Jones Oct 2004

Economic Impact Of Sheep Predation In The United States, Keithly Jones

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

Though accounting for less than 1 percent of U.S. livestock industry receipts, sheep and goat operations are still important to the economies of several states in the Southern Plains, Mountain States and Pacific regions. Revenues from sales of lambs and culled ewes amount to more than three-fourths of the total receipts in the sheep industry. However, nearly 4 percent of the animals in the sheep industry are lost each year. Most of this loss is from predation. Predators include coyotes, domestic dogs, big cats, foxes and bears, and eagles. Predator losses are concentrated in the Southern Plains, Pacific States and …

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Compensation Programs In Wyoming For Livestock Depredation By Large Carnivores, M. T. Bruscino, T. L. Cleveland Oct 2004

Compensation Programs In Wyoming For Livestock Depredation By Large Carnivores, M. T. Bruscino, T. L. Cleveland

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

Common law in America, which has been continually reinforced in the courts of the United States, holds that the people of the state own the wildlife within its boundaries. No person or entity holds absolute property rights to wildlife regardless of the ownership of the land on which the animal is found. The courts have construed that since wildlife belongs to everyone, everyone must share in its keep. As a result of this interpretation, courts have ruled the government, both state and federal, is immune from liability for damage caused by wild animals, unless the government waives its sovereign immunity …

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The History Of Federal And Cooperative Animal Damage Control, Donald W. Hawthorne Oct 2004

The History Of Federal And Cooperative Animal Damage Control, Donald W. Hawthorne

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

The predecessor of the Wildlife Services program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, was founded by C. Hart Merriam in 1885 with a Congressional appropriation of $5,000. These funds were used to organize a Section of Economic Ornithology as part of the Entomology Division of USDA. Merriam immediately hired longtime friend A. K. Fisher to be his assistant and the two shared a clerk. The new Section proved to be so popular with farmers and politicians that the Congress created a separate Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy in 1886. The Commissioner of Agriculture …

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Coyote Predation Management: An Economic Analysis Of Increased Antelope Recruitment And Cattle Production In South Central Wyoming, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Rod J. Merrell Oct 2004

Coyote Predation Management: An Economic Analysis Of Increased Antelope Recruitment And Cattle Production In South Central Wyoming, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Rod J. Merrell

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

In 1999, a project was implemented for the protection of antelope fawns in two areas of Carbon County, Wyoming. The project was funded by the Wyoming Animal Damage Management Board (ADMB) for the benefit of two antelope areas that were having trouble rebounding to their normal population levels after the severe winters of 1991 and 1992. While the Wyoming ADMB project’s main focus was on enhancing pronghorn antelope fawn recruitment, the benefits of coyote population management could have “spillover” benefits to cow/calf producers in the coyote removal areas.

With the decline of the value of coyote fur in the late …

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Feral Swine Impacts On Agriculture And The Environment, Nathan W. Seward, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Gary W. Witmer, Richard M. Engeman Oct 2004

Feral Swine Impacts On Agriculture And The Environment, Nathan W. Seward, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Gary W. Witmer, Richard M. Engeman

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

More than 30 species of exotic freeranging mammals have become established in the United States since European colonization (De Vos et al., 1956; McKnight, 1964; Roots, 1976). These species often become serious economic pests and can have grave consequences on their host environments (Cottam, 1956; De Vos et al., 1956; Mayer and Brisbin, 1991). True wild pigs (Suidae) are not native to the United States. Only the collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu; Tayassuidae) that inhabits the southwestern and south-central parts of the United States is native (Mayer and Brandt, 1982; Mayer and Wetzel, 1986). Feral swine (Sus scrofa …

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Using Genetic Analyses To Identify Predators, C. L. Williams, J. J. Johnston Oct 2004

Using Genetic Analyses To Identify Predators, C. L. Williams, J. J. Johnston

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

Coyote and dog depredation account for much of the economic losses to livestock in the United States (National Agricultural Statistical Service, 2000, 2001). However, depredation by other species (such as members of reintroduced wolf populations) can be more socially and politically contentious. Predators are often elusive and attacks on livestock are not often witnessed but the species of predator causing stock losses can sometimes be ascertained from evidence near the carcass (such as scat or hair), the attack pattern, or size and spacing of bite wounds. However, these species assignments can be subjective and may be influenced by the experience …

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Review Of Canid Management In Australia For The Protection Of Livestock And Wildlife — Potential Application To Coyote Management, L. R. Allen, P. J. S. Fleming Oct 2004

Review Of Canid Management In Australia For The Protection Of Livestock And Wildlife — Potential Application To Coyote Management, L. R. Allen, P. J. S. Fleming

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

Australia has two introduced canid species — European red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and wild dogs (which include dingoes, Canis lupus dingo, feral domestic dogs C. l. familiaris and their hybrids). Foxes were introduced into mainland Australia in the 1860s and quickly spread (Rolls, 1984; Jarman 1986). This dispersal and establishment is believed linked with the introduction and spread of European wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cunniculus) (Saunders et al., 1995). Except in Tasmania, where previous introductions appear to have been unsuccessful, and in northern Australia, where the climate is unsuitable and rabbits are essentially absent, foxes have become …

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Economic Impact Of Protected Large Carnivores On Sheep Farming In Norway, Leif Jarle Asheim, Ivar Mysterud Oct 2004

Economic Impact Of Protected Large Carnivores On Sheep Farming In Norway, Leif Jarle Asheim, Ivar Mysterud

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

Norway has historically been a stronghold for carnivore predators. Today there are four protected carnivore species, brown bear (Ursus arctos), wolverine (Gulo gulo), wolf (Canis lupus) and lynx (Lynx lynx), together with the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). The carnivore populations were significantly reduced, and wolves and bears almost eradicated nationally during the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries (Ministry of the Environment, 1992; 1996-97). Today, the species are protected, and management calls for restoring demographically and/or genetically viable populations (Ministry of the Environment, 1996-97). Another proposal is to view Norwegian management goals and responsibilities in …

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Special Issue On Predation (Volume 19, 2004) : Frontmatter & Contents Oct 2004

Special Issue On Predation (Volume 19, 2004) : Frontmatter & Contents

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

● Predation and Livestock Production-Perspective and Overview-- Maurice Shelton
● Economic Impact of Sheep Predation in the United States Keithly Jones
● The History of Federal and Cooperative Animal Damage Control-- Donald W. Hawthorne
● Status and Management of Coyote Depredations in the Eastern United States-- J. M. Houben
● The Coyote in the Edwards Plateau of Texas — An Update-- Gary Nunley
● Coyote Predation Management: An Economic Analysis of Increased Antelope Recruitment and Cattle Production in South Central Wyoming-- Stephanie A. Shwiff and Rod J. Merrell
● Feral Swine Impacts on Agriculture and the Environment-- Nathan W. Seward, …

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Use Of Livestock Guarding Animals To Reduce Predation On Livestock, W. F. Andelt Oct 2004

Use Of Livestock Guarding Animals To Reduce Predation On Livestock, W. F. Andelt

Sheep and Goat Research Journal

Predation by coyotes (Canis latrans), domestic dogs, mountain lions (Felis concolor), black bears (Ursus americanus), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), and bobcats (Felis rufus) has been a major problem faced by domestic sheep, goat (NASS, 2000), and cattle (NASS, 2001) producers. Predators were reported to kill 273,000 sheep and lambs (NASS, 2000) and 147,000 cattle and calves (NASS, 2001) in the United States, and 61,000 goats in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas (NASS, 2000) during either 1999 or 2000. Several methods, including the use of …

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