US cull kills 19 feral cattle in New Mexico

Published 2023년 3월 2일

Tridge summary

Nineteen feral cattle have been culled in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico by federal employees, in an operation aimed at protecting endangered species and hikers from undomesticated animals. The operation, the second of its kind in as many years, targeted an estimated 150 stray or unbranded cows but only 19 were found. The cull has been met with opposition from ranchers, who say it is inhumane and could mistakenly kill privately owned cattle. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has also criticized the operation for failing to engage with locals. A judge has ruled against the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, saying only one of the around 300 feral cattle rounded up or shot in several decades was privately owned.

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Original content

Nineteen feral cattle have been shot from a helicopter by federal employees in a New Mexico wilderness area in a cull opposed by ranchers and criticised by the state’s governor, reported Reuters. The US Forest Service (USFS) said the three-day operation was the most efficient way to stop the undomesticated animals destroying endangered species' habitats and menacing hikers in the Gila Wilderness of southwest New Mexico. Ranchers tried to block the cull in court saying it was inhumane and could mistakenly kill privately owned cattle that had strayed after breaking through fences. An animal welfare group called for a roundup and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said the USFS failed to engage with locals over the issue. The aerial shoot, the second in as many years, targeted an estimated 150 stray or unbranded cows but four sweeps over the Gila's mountains and canyons found a fraction of that number, the USFS said. “Ground-based and aerial removal efforts since October 2021 ...

Source: The Cattle Site