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Depopulation of Animals

Depopulation of animals has a rather ominous sound to it. Why would we ever want to depopulate an area of animals? Aren’t we struggling with enough losses in wildlife numbers already? What would be the purpose of trying to increase the deaths of wildlife that are already under strain in many parts of the world?

Large numbers of wildlife, like these mule deer, occasionally require depopulation. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel.
Large numbers of wildlife, like these mule deer, occasionally require depopulation. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel.

Those are all great questions. Let’s begin by noting that no one wants to depopulate an area of wildlife unless those animals are deemed invasive, such as feral hogs, nutria, etc. But aside from invasive animals, depopulation often needs to occur when there are significant disease outbreaks. Depopulation on large scales are used to either eliminate the spread of the disease, or to significantly reduce the spread of that disease to buy time.

Depopulation of animals isn’t pretty nor is it sought after but from time to time some animals must die in order to save the many. It’s just one of those hard facts that just has to be accepted even if the practice of killing all those animals makes one nauseous.

Because depopulation of animals is needed from time to time, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) established a working group to create standards to guide depopulation efforts. Their goal was to establish some principles and preferred methods to do this awful work in a manner that would be both effective but cause the least amount of suffering to the animals concerned and avoid harming non-targeted animals. I was grateful to be invited to participate in the creation of this document. It is an honor to be part of a publication that will guide the actions of agencies and wildlife control personnel tasked with performing mass depopulations of wildlife.

The document is called the AVMA Guidelines for the Depopulation of Animals 2019. It has just been made available. You can download your copy at https://www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Pages/depopulation-guidelines.aspx

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications along with several books (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

My publications are a great resource for wildlife control operators.
My publications are a great resource for wildlife control operators.

One of the challenges for wildlife control operators (WCOs) is finding quality information on wildlife control. Sure you could search Google, but you will often find a lot of hocus-pocus out there along with the “good stuff.” I would hope that readers of this blog would consider my books. I have written several that have had good acceptance within the wildlife control industry.

As much as I would love more people to buy my books, and as helpful as they are, they don’t cover everything. Birds, for example are not covered as deeply as say raccoons or skunks. In addition, it’s often a good idea to read information about the same subject to get different perspectives on a subject. Sometimes the same information stated in a different way helps readers grasp the content better. Whether that improvement in understanding is due to the repetition of reading similar material or rewording is irrelevant. Understanding is the goal.

So back to my original problem. Where does a WCO find quality information? I will suggest that WCOs consider the USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services page entitled the Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series. These documents are written and/or reviewed by leaders within their respective fields so you can trust the information. The documents are available at no additional charge,(I say no additional charge rather than “free” because nothing the government does is free. Government work is paid for by taxes so the government doesn’t require you to pay for the materials again). Just download them as you wish and read them.

The Technical publications cover a variety of birds, beaver, muskrat, and other topics such as carcass disposal and safety. More publications will be added so be sure to make the link a favorite and visit every few months to see if any new publications have been added, your customers and your bottom line will be glad you did.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications along with several books (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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A New Safety Publication

Little Giant-type ladder used on one-floor structure. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel.
Little Giant-type ladder used on one-floor structure. Photo: Stephen M. Vantassel.

Safety is essential for everyone but it can be particularly acute for those in the working trades like wildlife control. Most wildlife control operators (WCOs) are self-employed. So if they get hurt, they pay for sick days out of their own pocket through lost wages. WCOs need access to safety publications but life is too short and fragile to learn from mistakes. 

But finding safety publications or information dedicated to the needs of wildlife control operators are difficulty to find. Where do we send WCOs to get information that can protect them from harm without making them learn the hard way?

Fortunately, I and Brenda K. Osthus, Safety director at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, have a written a safety publication that moves WCOs in the right direction. This safety publication was originally to be published in the fifth edition of the Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage. But unfortunately, that revised publication has been delayed for years so we offered the article to the USDA-Wildlife Services to be part of the Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series. The Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series, to my understanding, was created to fill the gap left by the Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage. Readers of my column may recall this is the second article I have published with the USDA-Wildlife Services. 

You can download a copy of this new safety publication by clicking  Safety Publication

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications along with several books (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Wildlife Carcass Disposal Publication

Vantassel, S.M. and M.A. King. 2018. Wildlife Carcass Disposal. Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series. USDA, APHIS, WS National Wildlife Research Center. Fort Collins, Colorado. 10p.
Vantassel, S.M. and M.A. King. 2018. Wildlife Carcass Disposal. Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series. USDA, APHIS, WS National Wildlife Research Center. Fort Collins, Colorado. 10p.

One of the frequently neglected topics in the area of wildlife control is the topic of animal disposition. Disposition is simply an umbrella term to discuss what one does with an animal that is in one’s control, such as a cage trap. Options for disposition include relocation, translocation, and dispatch. Unfortunately, in most wildlife control publications created by agencies and Extension agents, dispatch is rarely covered and if it is, it is discussed in only vague terms. I am proud to say that publications with my name are exceptions to that informational oversight. But even publications that discuss how to kill an animal, how often do they review wildlife carcass disposal? After all, once the animal is dead what do you do with the carcass? This educational neglect is often a reflection of a failure to recognize that wildlife control involves death, the death of animals as well as a lack of experience in the field.

The neglect of wildlife carcass disposal has taken another step back by the publication of Wildlife Carcass Disposal by the USDA, APHIS, WS National Wildlife Research Center.  Mr. King and I had originally wrote this publication for the 5th edition of the Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage. Unfortunately, the fifth edition never took place despite being on the agenda for over a decade. So the USDA-Wildlife Services decided to push ahead and publish chapters on its own. I am grateful because I had three chapters written over three years ago. I wondered if they would ever see the light of day. Now, one has and others will follow, but I digress.

The publication Wildlife Carcass Disposal covers all the main ways to handle carcasses including, single burial, mass burial, repurposing, composting and cremation. Issues concerning disease safety and protection of water sources are also covered. I hope you enjoy  the article. It’s available at no additional cost from the following link  https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/reports/Wildlife%20Damage%20Management%20Technical%20Series/Carcass%20Disposal_WDM%20Technical%20Series.pdf

 

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications along with several books (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

 

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Prevention & Control of Wildlife Damage 5th Ed?

Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage 5th Ed?

Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage 4th Edition
Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage 4th Edition

Some of you may be familiar with the Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage 4th edition that was published in 1994. It has been the Bible of wildlife control for decades. You can see it at icwdm.org. But it’s getting a bit dated. Though the field of wildlife damage management does not change as quickly as high tech fields, it has developed new tools and techniques. Most of the techniques and tools help wildlife control operators resolve conflicts faster or with greater precision than the older methods. Don’t get me wrong, the Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage 4th ed. still has value. Biology and damage identification tips can be helpful. But the control methods sections (as a rule) are woefully out of date. So read the book with caution as you are likely not getting the full story of techniques as they have evolved.

Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage 4th Edition
Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage 4th Edition was published in 1994 as a two-volume set.

Fortunately, the USDA-Wildlife Services agency is publishing an update albeit slowly, but surely.

Check it out at USDA-Wildlife Services Technical Series 

I think you will be impressed. I would recommend that you bookmark it and revisit it about every other month as USDA-Wildlife Services will add articles as they become available. I have a few that I have written with my co-authors that are awaiting publication.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications along with several books (http://kingsdivinity.academia.edu/StephenMVantassel). He is a sought after speaker and trainer. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.