HR 4819 IH

To amend the Wildlife Services Program of the Department of Agriculture to emphasize the use of nonlethal methods of predator control for livestock protection and to target assistance under the program to operators of small farms and ranches through grants, training, and research regarding the use of nonlethal methods to predator control.

July 10, 2000

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

To amend the Wildlife Services Program of the Department of Agriculture to emphasize the use of nonlethal methods of predator control for livestock protection and to target assistance under the program to operators of small farms and ranches through grants, training, and research regarding the use of nonlethal methods to predator control.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL FARM AND RANCH OPERATORS TO USE NONLETHAL MEANS OF PREDATOR CONTROL UNDER WILDLIFE SERVICES PROGRAM FOR LIVESTOCK PROTECTION.

Section 2 of the Act of March 2, 1931 (7 U.S.C. 426a), is amended to read as follows:

`SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL FARM AND RANCH OPERATORS TO USE NONLETHAL MEANS OF PREDATOR CONTROL FOR LIVESTOCK PROTECTION.

`(a) DEFINITIONS- In this section:

`(1) LETHAL PREDATOR CONTROL- The term `lethal predator control' means a lethal method to control the population of a wild animal that preys on domestic livestock or otherwise interferes with livestock operations, including such methods as aerial gunning, shooting, denning, leghold trapping, conibear trapping, neck and body snaring, and poisoning.

`(2) NONLETHAL PREDATOR CONTROL- The term `nonlethal predator control' means a method to prevent, or reduce the likelihood of, a wild animal preying on domestic livestock or otherwise interfering with livestock operations that does not involve the destruction of the animal, including such methods as the use of livestock herders, dogs, burros, or llamas to guard livestock, night penning of livestock, and improved fencing.

`(3) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture.

`(4) SMALL RANCH OPERATION- The term `small ranch operation' means a farm or ranch that generates not more than $250,000 in gross revenues annually, as determined by the Secretary.

`(5) WILDLIFE SERVICES PROGRAM- The term `Wildlife Services Program' means the activities authorized by the first section of this Act.

`(b) ASSISTANCE RESTRICTED TO SMALL RANCH OPERATIONS- In carrying out Wildlife Services Program operations designed to protect livestock and livestock operations from wild animals injurious to animal husbandry, the Secretary shall restrict those operations to small ranch operations that the Secretary determines--

`(1) involve the raising of the types of livestock most at risk to damage from wild animals; and

`(2) are located in those areas where the need for predator control is greatest, rather than those areas where predator control has traditionally occurred.

`(c) EMPHASIS ON NONLETHAL PREDATOR CONTROL- The Secretary shall emphasize the use of nonlethal predator control methods, rather than lethal predator control methods, as the preferred way to protect livestock and livestock operations under the Wildlife Services Program.

`(d) GRANTS TO IMPLEMENT NONLETHAL PREDATOR CONTROL- Using funds made available for Wildlife Services Program operations, the Secretary shall make grants to operators of small ranch operations and associations composed primarily of operators of small ranch operations to assist an operator or association to implement and use nonlethal predator control to prevent, or reduce the likelihood of, wild animals preying on livestock or otherwise interfering with livestock operations.

`(e) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE- Using funds made available for Wildlife Services Program operations, the Secretary shall provide operators of small ranch operations with training and technical assistance regarding the availability of nonlethal predator control options and the use of nonlethal predator control in their livestock operations.

`(f) RESEARCH-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall conduct research, directly or through grants with appropriate entities, to determine the following:

`(A) The extent of the damage to livestock and livestock operations, particularly in western States, resulting from the depredations of predatory and other wild animals.

`(B) The environmental consequences of conducting Wildlife Services Program operations, particularly lethal predator control, to prevent or reduce predator damage to livestock and livestock operations.

`(C) The effectiveness of lethal predator control and nonlethal predator control under the Wildlife Services Program to protect livestock and livestock operations.

`(D) The overall populations of specific wildlife and predatory species on a regional, rather than State-by-State basis, with emphasis given to monitoring viable wildlife populations.

`(2) INFORMATION ON SHEEP LOSSES- As one of the research projects conducted under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall enter into agreements with wool producers or other appropriate entities in not more than 12 sheep-raising districts in the western States, with varying degrees of predation problems, to promptly report sheep losses to predators in order to more accurately determine the extent to which predatory animals cause damage to the wool industry despite the use of, or in the absence of, lethal predator control and nonlethal predator control.

`(3) ANNUAL REPORT- The Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report describing the results of the research projects conducted under this subsection.

`(4) FUNDING- The Secretary shall use funds made available for Wildlife Services Program operations to carry out this subsection.'.

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