Feds say predators kill small number of cattle; Ranchers say it still means lost profits

Farmers and ranchers said Tuesday that predators like coyotes are a huge problem, despite a federal report that found the number of cattle killed by the animals was minimal. Officials at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said the cattle losses, even if they seem small, usually represent the profits they would have made that year. Dustin Van Liew, director of federal lands for the group, said predation to livestock, specifically their cattle, represents a significant problem for ranchers and farmers out west. A report on cattle deaths released Thursday by the National Agricultural Statistics Service found that predatory losses cost ranchers more than $98 million. Nationwide, 5.5 percent of all cattle and calf losses are due to predators, the study found. In Wyoming, officials attributed 9.5 percent of the cattle and calf losses to predators. Of those, wolves accounted for nearly 19 percent, and bears almost 16 percent. Van Liew said Wildlife Services, a division of the Department of Agriculture, provides some funding associated with predatory control on wildlife, with "sometimes something like half to two-thirds of funding is contributed by private citizens, like farmers and ranchers."...more