“Federal employee allows dogs to savagely attack a trapped coyote and more …
Wildlife Services, a branch of the USDA, is constantly being criticized for the wanton slaughter and abuse of millions of animals every single year.
A summary of some of Wildlife Services egregious activities include, but is not limited to, the following:
With steel traps, wire snares and poison, agency employees have accidentally killed more than 50,000 animals since 2000 that were not problems, including federally protected golden and bald eagles; more than 1,100 dogs, including family pets; and several species considered rare or imperiled by wildlife biologists.
A growing body of science has found the agency’s war against predators, waged to protect livestock and big game, is altering ecosystems in ways that diminish biodiversity, degrade habitat and invite disease.
In all, more than 150 species have been killed by mistake by Wildlife Services traps, snares and cyanide poison since 2000, records show. A list could fill a field guide. Here are some examples: Armadillos, badgers, great-horned owls, hog-nosed skunks, javelina, pronghorn antelope, porcupines, great blue herons, ruddy ducks, snapping turtles, turkey vultures, long-tailed weasels, marmots, mourning doves, red-tailed hawks, sandhill cranes and ringtails.
The body count includes more than 25,000 red and gray foxes, 10,700 bobcats, 2,800 black bears, 2,300 timber wolves and 2,100 mountain lions. But the vast majority—about 512,500—were coyotes.
Aerial gunning is the agency’s most popular predator-killing tool. Since 2001, more than 340,000 coyotes have been gunned down from planes and helicopters across 16 Western states, including California—an average of 600 a week, agency records show.
Between 2004 and 2010, Wildlife Services killed over 22.5 million animals to protect agribusiness. The agency spends $100 million each year, and Wildlife Services’ job is to “eradicate” and “bring down” wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, bears, prairie dogs, and other wild animals.
In 2010, Wildlife Services killed 5 million animals (this number does not include the thousands birds the Service has since admitted to poisoning in 2010), including 112,781 mammalian carnivores such as coyotes, wolves, bobcats, cougars, badgers and bears.
New evidence of reprehensible animal abuse: What follows is not easy reading
And, just this week, we’ve learned that an employee of Wildlife Services, Jamie Olson, who works as a trapper in Wyoming, has been caught, and is being held responsible for, promoting extreme acts of cruelty and torture. A summary of these heinous acts can be found here. The photos on Mr. Olson’s Facebook page and elsewhere include: ” …two dogs savagely attacking a coyote in a leg-hold trap and the employee posing with the tattered carcass of a coyote. They also show other trapped animals – dead and alive. … [another] shows the trapper’s brownish-black Airedale approaching a coyote in a leg-hold trap, unable to defend itself. The coyote is snarling and trying to pull away. A caption says: ‘My Airedale Bear with a sheep killing female.’ … Another photo on Twitter showed a partly disemboweled coyote on a log. The caption reads: ‘Eagles got to this adult female before I did.'”
This sort of abuse is “very common”
Is this sort of abuse rare? No, according to a former Wildlife Services trapper. “Gary Strader, a former Wildlife Services trapper in Nevada, was not surprised to learn about the controversial photos. ‘That is very common,’ Strader wrote in an email. ‘It always was and always will be controversial. It has never been addressed by the higher-ups. They know it happens on a regular basis.'”
I’m sorry to post this story but it’s essential to get the word out about these sorts of heinous activities. And, more important, you can do something about these thoroughly repugnant and unacceptable behaviors that uses our tax dollars.
Please contact Mr. Rod Krischke, State Director, Wyoming Wildlife Services, P.O. Box 67, Casper, Wyoming 82602; Rodney.F.Krischke@aphis.usda.gov; William Clay, Deputy Administrator for Wildlife Services; Bill.Clay@aphis.usda.gov; Jeffrey S. Green, Western Regional Director for Wildlife Services; jeffrey.s.green@usda.gov; and Congressman Peter DeFazio at https://forms.house.gov/defazio/IMA/contact.html and Congressman John Campbell at http://campbell.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1023&Itemid=35.
Cruelty can’t stand the spotlight and these heinous activities must be stopped now.”
*Special thanks to “Psychology Today,” http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201211/wildlife-services-trapper-allows-animal-torture for providing this information!
The Wolf Preservation Blog 
[…] Wildlife Services, a branch of the USDA, is constantly being criticized for the wanton slaughter and abuse of millions of animals every single year. […]
Our Govt. is a joke, it has not only failed the people of this country but the wildlife as well. These maggots that not only observed but allowed something like this to take place deserves the same thing done to them. What an example these scum bags are. The law should throw the book at them. I myself would rather see them tied to a few cinder blocks and thrown into the ocean. Clearly that wont happen, but oh what a dream it is.
This is barbaric, digusting and full of ignorance.We call ourselves civilized? HORRIBLE
Emailed and cc’d my congressperson and senators:
Due to these and other egregious and satanic practices,
I formally request that the budget for APHIS and all WILDLIFE Services be eliminated NOW, or ASAP.
A few years ago, APHIS was sexually molesting bull bison in Montana.
How can YOU allow this to be funded?
Thank you for your help.
Thank you for e-mailing your congressman and senators Reverend Jane Eagle!
The agency describes its urban and nuisance wildlife services on its Web page. These include shooting and dispersing waterfowl around airports and on golf courses, trapping beavers, skunks and raccoons in suburbs and killing pigeons and other birds in towns and cities.
Trapline dogs such as those discussed, assist trappers in finding the game, when the stake of the trap, has been lifted out and prey goes missing.
Yes, they sometimes work to find and engage the prey, who are then dispatched, its not pretty, but neither is slaughtering a farmers sheep and lambs.
And it sure beats a trapped animal suffering even more unnecessarily.
Bill,
Wolves are less than 1% responsible for a farmer’s sheep and lambs, with most situations preventable if farmer took better measures. Predators act out of instinct and kill because they MUST. A person who trains dogs to attack and kill a trapped animal is not instinct and completely unnecessary. Umm…no it does not “beat a trapped animal suffering even more unnecessarily” because we’re talking about the exact same thing here! The animals are already trapped for a long period of time, then attacked and killed by these trained dogs.
The stake of the trap is not neccesarily lifted out Bill. I’ve seen plenty of pictures where that is absolutely not true.
This is just horrible! Cant the authorities do something? Mr Olson, sounds like a swedish name. If he is of swedish ascendence, I as a swede are ashamed of him! Discusting :-@
I whole heartedly agree with your comments above. Shameless, barbaric and unspeakable. I wonder how this man would feel if his dog happened upon one of these traps and was “dispatched” in this manner.
I just don’t understand all this hate for the wild life & having them at a disadvantage.. what the hell did they do to any of you for you to end there life so inhumanely.. the more I see all this killing so savagely against wildlife the more I loose respect for man…& all humans that allow this to be going on..they ban dogfights & other domestic fighting.. why the hell is this any different..its still a life that is being unjustly terminated ..Tell me why this is any different…its sick.. & for wild life management to be part of it.. that is a mockery to all wild life..
These men are sick. I pity their wives and children.When they don’t have any animals to torture will they pick on their families or their neighbors???????????
What the hell is the matter with people who allow this to go on! What the hell is the matter with the person who openly encourages the attacks of and torcher of these poor trapped animals. Trapping, snaring, and killing in such disgusting, sickening and in human ways make me want to throw up! Get rid of the monsters that are in the positions that allow it, encourage it and condone it. May Karma even the score………….. Karma is real! What goes around will eventually come around in spades.
Another reason to feel proud to be human .
I have seen these pictures of Jamie Olson and his hounds tearing apart that poor coyote. It enrages me every time I see them. But nothing will be done by WS to him to punish him for his despicable behavior. In fact they know all about it and condone it. What’s more, our government knows about it and condones it also. That is what really galls me to know end. I used to believe our government consisted of people who had all their constituents views and needs as their guides; But since I have become more and more involved in my fight to save wolves from extinction I have come to view our government very differently than before. I have seen how corrupt politicians are. I have tried calling them, and writing letters to them to urge their support for wolves to be relisted and also for strong protections for them once they lose the protection of the ESA in my state all to no avail. It’s all about the ranchers and sportsman and who will line their pockets the best. Wolves, coyotes, cougars, and bears don’t matter at all to them nor does what the vast majority of their constituents want to see happen. I feel so angry and discouraged sometimes, because it’s not going to change until the media starts really putting the pressure on and exposing each and every one of them for the corrupt bastards they are, and starts spotlighting these heinous acts of cruelty against wildlife and making those who condone it as responsible as the ones who commit these horrible crimes against animals, starting with Wildlife Services and all state wildlife agencies. They need to be exposed for their corruption and done away with completely because they do not have wildlifes best interests as their primary mission not even close.
This is dog fighting and should be prosecuted as such. What kind of psychos are on the governments payroll?
😦 😦 FIRE HIM!!!
FIRE FIRE FIRE THAT VERMIN. HE IS A DARK EVIL PARASITE…
Bill, you speak absolute truth!!!! PLEASE continue to pursue this and I am with you.
These guys should have their trappers rights pulled forever, furthermore, they should be chained and horse whipped, their nothing but trash
Nice photo evidence. Judging from the clothing, Mongolia?