Michael Markarian: Animals & Politics: Federal Trapper Arrested for Animal Cruelty

Michael Markarian: Animals & Politics: Federal Trapper Arrested for Animal Cruelty

Please read The Humane Society Legislative Fund's President Michael Markarian's recent posting on a tragic event that happened in Arizona last week involving a USDA Wildlife Services trapper.

Federal Trapper Arrested for Animal Cruelty

The USDA’s Wildlife Services program—established more than 80 years ago with the passage of the Animal Damage Control Act of 1931—wastes millions of taxpayer dollars recklessly killing animals with steel-jawed leghold traps, toxic poisons, aerial gunning, and other hideous lethal methods every year. Several former USDA-Wildlife Services employees and whistleblowers have described the agency’s deeply rooted culture of disregard for animals, and for these reasons, have long suspected that some federal trappers may be committing crimes against animals while performing work-related duties. They’ve never been caught in the act, until now.

USDA’s Wildlife Services - a “service” wildlife can do without

Wildlife Services is a program of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that spends millions of taxpayer dollars annually to kill thousands of apex predators—coyotes, wolves, bears, cougars, and many others—as a subsidy for the livestock industry. The animals are shot, poisoned, gassed, snared, and caught in leghold traps - methods that are indiscriminate, ineffective, cruel, and also hazardous to humans and pets.In recent years, Wildlife Services has branched out to increase its programs to remove wildlife from urban areas - killing animals for eating flowers and pet food, digging in gardens, frightening people, and other concerns that could easily be addressed by nonviolent methods.

 This is the agency that has been contracted to eliminate coyotes and mountain beaver numerous times in Lake Forest Park.