Last year, the USDA’s Wildlife Services killed 76,859 coyotes, in large part to protect livestock, especially sheep and calves. But killing coyotes may actually make the problem worse, says New Food Economy.
“When pack animals such as coyotes, dingoes, and wolves are killed, the social structure of their packs breaks down,” says New Food. “Female coyotes become more likely to breed and their pups are more likely to survive, so their numbers may actually increase. Packs generally protect territories, so breaking up a pack allows new animals to come in, raising the population. In addition, some new arrivals may opportunistically prey on livestock, which can increase predation rates.”
About a third of adult sheep losses and a little more than a third of lamb losses are linked to predators. Of those kills, about half of the total predation on adult sheep and two-thirds on lambs is attributed to coyotes. But those statistics are self-reported by ranchers, and it can be hard to distinguish a kill made by a coyote from one made by a dog—the second most common livestock predator.
“To keep coyotes in check, WS employees set neck snares and other traps, shoot coyotes on the ground and from planes and helicopters, arm sheep with collars containing liquid poison, and distribute M-44 “bombs” that inject sodium cyanide into the mouths of animals that chew on them,” says New Food.
One study by the Wildlife Conservation Society found that ranchers sometimes blame increased predation for the drop in sheep numbers across the West, but that other factors, including the price of hay and the market price for lamb, play a bigger role. The amount spent on predator control didn’t seem to affect the size of the nation’s overall sheep herd, the study said.