Wildlife Services is still killing plenty of animals in Montana.
“Steuber said coyotes cause the most livestock damage of any predator, by far. His agency claims that in 2015, coyotes killed almost 1,500 lambs, 212 calves and 240 chickens in Montana. So in 2015, Wildlife Services employees killed 6,600 coyotes, shooting about half of those using helicopters. They also shot black bears and mountain lions believed to have been involved in livestock damage.”
Over 52,000 coyotes were voluntarily reported killed by individuals in Montana by shooting and trapping in the last 3 recorded years.
“Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks pays Wildlife Services $110,000 a year to deal with problem wolves. In 2015, WS killed 31 wolves, but that was fewer than in previous years, Steuber said.”
A minimum of another 210 wolves were shot or trapped by laymen during the 2015/2016 season.
“The number of sheep in Montana has dropped by half since 1997.”
For 2016, Montana is home to 2,550,000 cattle.
At the end of 2015, Fish, Wildlife and Parks reported that 44 cattle had been killed by wolves in Montana,
While losses to predators were almost 1/3 of what they were in 2009 , i.e. 133 in 2015 vs 370 in 2009, the Montana Livestock Loss Board paid out the highest reimbursements amounting to $146,745 in 2015 to compensate for their increased value.
