375,000 NATIVE ANIMALS KILLED by One Program in 2023
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's notorious #WildlifeServices program just put out its required tally of #killings for last year: 375,045 native animals. The federal extermination program targets a long list of wild creatures, chiefly at the behest of #agricultural interests in states like #Texas, #Colorado and #Idaho.
According to the report — which almost surely understates the actual numbers —
"I'm horrified by both the sheer number of animals killed and the immense #suffering involved," said Collette Adkins, the Center's carnivore conservation director.
“It’s hard to even imagine the thousands of #coyotes, #beavers and other animals who die agonizing deaths from snares, traps or poisons.”
The reported number of native animals killed in 2023 was similar to the previous three years. These recent numbers reflect a steep decline compared to 2019, when approximately 1.3 million native animals were killed. The red-winged blackbird is an example of a species with fewer individuals intentionally killed by Wildlife Services,
Back with the home critters, the #beavers were busy preening and swimming and splashing. I've become quite fond of the furry beasts. #Hiking#GetOutside
Increasing diversity and resilience, not to mention creating wetlands, are just some of the impacts beavers can have on their surroundings. What does this mean for the wider environment?
Today is International Beaver Day, so there is no better time to tell you about my upcoming #osdi24 paper "Beaver: Practical Partial Snapshots for Distributed Cloud Services"... using pictures of cute beavers.
This project was led by Liangcheng Yu, along with his advisor Vincent Liu and other colleagues at UPenn. (1/6)
(photo from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver#/media/File:American_Beaver.jpg)
#Beavers busy on the bay this morning, and for once the light was great. Probably the last pics to be taken with this tele, new one on the way. Bittersweet, as cheap as this one is, it’s given me some memorable critter images over the last 15 or so years. #Hiking#GetOutside
Beavers have been busy in our wetland. What was once a small stream is now a series of ponds at varying levels of water. With the tall grasses flattened down by the recent snow, details of their activity become visible: The edge of the pond is lined with a low but very long dam of mud and grass clots, raising the waterline by half a foot above the adjacent meadow. #Beavers#Wetlands
The St. Mary's river is flooded over from all the melted #ice and #snow. I wonder where all the playful #beavers that live in its banks go when their homes are drowned in muddy waters? A warm day in a cold hearted town where nothing ever seems to work out.
It's great to see #water where I didn't see some for years. This part of the forest suffered extremely from last years droughts. Many large trees died. Their small descendants will thrive for the time being. And tomorrow I'll tell you how I verified that we indeed have #beavers!
"For decades, beavers were considered pests – trapped & shot on sight. Now the attitude towards nature's best engineers is changing, & farmers are working to bring them back. #Beavers are vital to #ecosystems, as their dam building habits spread water through parched landscapes. This can not only help to regulate the flow of water, it provides another important service – keeping fires under control. Beavers are nature's firefighters.
In northern New Mexico, Darr has seen farmers "drastically" change their perception of beavers. "They were pretty hesitant, but they saw first-hand how the beavers provided sustained, reliable #water sources throughout the year, even during the hot dry summer we had. To see it is to believe it. We just have to show people what beavers can do for other wildlife, & humans." #permaculture#climate#drought#floodhttps://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240111-the-us-is-bringing-back-beavers-because-theyre-natures-best-firefighters
For decades, beavers were considered pests – trapped & shot on sight. Now the attitude towards nature's best engineers is changing, & farmers are working to bring them back