Your tax dollars at work: in 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Damage Management program rubbed out over five million undesirable critters nationwide. Included on the hit list:
- 14 alligators
- 452 wolves
- 527 badgers
- 586 black bears
- 27,219 beavers
- 80,657 coyotes
- 603,000 blackbirds
- 2.5 million starlings
Starlings? Yes, starlings, because they poop on feed. Little buggers.
Why stop there, Cory? Humans kill.
"Pesticide related mortality of raptors has been reported throughout the United States, including that of red-tailed hawks, screech-owls, great horned owls, sharpshinned hawks, snowy owls, Cooper’s hawks, Mississippi kites, and Swainson’s hawks."
http://library.fws.gov/pubs/mbd_pesticides-3-00.pdf
Rewild the West.
Industrial agriculture and ethics (it ain't pretty):
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-01-03/environmental-outlook-labels-genetically-modified-foods
Considering the Starling is an invasive species, is responsible for millions of dollars of damage, and is responsible for killing people, I think getting rid of a fraction of their population (estimated 200 million US) is fine.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/article_a448882a-1e4d-11df-b6a8-001cc4c03286.html
Like Larry, I am choosy about which species I would cull. Unlike Larry, I wouldn't cull people. I would note that a single wind farm in California killed thousands of raptors a year for four decades. Just sayin'.
Evidence of support for new farm labor rules aired recently borne out in death of South Dakota ag worker killed on first day by a power take-off.
Red state failure.
@HuffPostGreen:
Few veterinarians trained to treat organic livestock huff.to/xjdVWU
25 minutes ago
FDA regulates just a tiny fraction of livestock antibiotics although many deadly to watersheds:
http://www.grist.org/list/2012-01-05-fda-regulates-basically-negligible-antibiotic-in-livestock
Bob Newland reminded me that today is National Bird Day and that the Audubon Society has just completed a national bird count:
http://decorumforum.blogspot.com/2012/01/small-afternoon.html