Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

The US killed 200 animals per hour in 2021

  • By Al Mayadeen net
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 25 Mar 2022 16:24
  • 6 Shares
4 Min Read

The US killed a total of 1.75 million animals last year.

  • x
  • The US killed 200 animals per hour in 2021
    More than a million European starling were killed (earth.com)

A division of the US Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services, killed more than 1.75 million animals across the nation in 2021.

Conservationists are enraged at the murders, calling them cruel and unnecessary. The killings, according to Wildlife Services, are vital to safeguard agricultural productivity, vulnerable species, and human health.

The 2021 toll includes alligators, armadillos, doves, owls, otters, porcupines, snakes, and turtles. More than a million of the animals killed were European starlings. A lone moose was shot, as was a solitary antelope and, by chance, a bald eagle.

  • The US killed 200 animals per hour in 2021
     Wildlife Services' most-killed species in 2021 (The Guardian)

Wildlife Services targets invasive animals that it considers a threat to ecosystems, such as feral pigs and a type of gigantic swamp rat known as nutria, but it also kills a large number of America's native species, which is contentious.

Last year, the agency killed 404,538 native wildlife, including 324 gray wolves, 64,131 coyotes, 433 black bears, 200 mountain lions, 605 bobcats, 3,014 foxes, and 24,687 beavers.

Related News

Syria welcomes US decision to lift sanctions, hosts US delegation

Trump claims Gaza war to end in weeks, despite ongoing Israeli assault

Many animals are killed inadvertently, with 2,746 species, including bears, foxes, and dogs, being destroyed by mistake last year. This is due, in part, to Wildlife Services' employment of leg hold traps, snares, and poisons to target animals. Other methods used by the agency include collecting up and gassing geese and killing coyotes from helicopters or airplanes.

Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation director at the Center for Biological Diversity called the program "stomach-turning," adding that "Killing carnivores like wolves and coyotes to supposedly benefit the livestock industry just leads to more conflicts and more killing. This is a truly vicious cycle, and we’ll continue to demand change from Wildlife Services.”

Wildlife Services killed 5 million animals in both 2008 and 2010, and as recently as 2019, it killed roughly 1.3 million native species. Wildlife Services claims its mission is to " resolve wildlife conflicts to allow people and wildlife to coexist and frequently operates at the request of ranchers, state agencies, and airports to exterminate species deemed harmful to the environment, economic activity, or public safety.

However, conservationists have long criticized this technique, claiming that the deaths are indiscriminate and harm America's ecology.

Targeting predators, such as coyotes and bears, can destabilize ecosystems and potentially contribute to the spread of exotic species. Various pieces of legislation have failed to limit Wildlife Services' activities, despite resistance in some states, such as California and Washington.

The most controversial of the methods is the use of M-44 cyanide "bombs" to extinguish some animals. 

The devices, touted as an "effective and environmentally sound wildlife damage management tool" by Wildlife Services, are simply canisters placed in landscapes that release a cloud of sodium cyanide when touched by animals. It frequently kills foxes, coyotes, and other targeted animals in five minutes or less.

However, the usage of M-44 canisters sometimes go wrong, such as when pet dogs mistakenly activate them. Canyon Mansfield, 14, was smeared in deadly powder in 2017 after coming into contact with one of the devices while walking his dog Kasey behind his home in Pacatello, Idaho. The event wounded Mansfield and killed his dog, causing environmentalists to demand for a ban on the use of M-44s, which the federal government has so far rejected.

Carson Barylak, campaigns manager at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) stated "M-44 cyanide ejectors jeopardize animals and people alike, and a nationwide ban is long overdue."

  • United States
  • US

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS