Policies (legal and management)

That’s a bloodbath: How a federal program kills wildlife for private interests [National public radio – October 10, 2024]

What’s This Story About: NPR sheds light on the long-standing, taxpayer-funded killing machine known as Wildlife Services—a federal program that continues to eliminate native predators under the guise of public service. Despite decades of scrutiny, the agency still prioritizes the interests of a small number of ranchers over the health of our ecosystems.
Why This Story: This isn’t just about dead animals—it’s about a broken system that sacrifices public wildlife on public land for private gain. The agency buries its predator-killing mission behind inflated invasive bird kill numbers, masking the true scale of carnivore eradication in the western U.S.

California enacts unprecedented restrictions on rat poisons in bid to protect wildlife [Los angeles times – October 1, 2024]

What’s This Story About: California has made a bold move to protect its native predators by restricting all blood-thinning rodenticides statewide. With alarming exposure rates among mountain lions and raptors, the new law aims to stop poisoning the very wildlife these poisons were never intended to harm.
Why This Story: This isn’t just a win for predators—it’s a stand against ecological negligence. When nearly 90% of pumas and birds of prey test positive for rodenticides, we’re clearly not just killing rats; we’re unraveling food webs.

California Senate Declares – Year of the California Grizzly Bear [Center for Biological Diversity – April 8, 2024

Wolf trapping blocked in much of Idaho to protect threatened grizzlies [courthouse news Service – March 20, 2024]