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The use of poisons for coyote control is controversial because of public opposition to lethal control of pest animals and the perceived environmental risks of pesticide use. The development of immunocontraception for population control of coyotes could result in a more acceptable alternative to poisons. Immunocontraception using porcine zona pellucida (PZP) would allow normal estrus in the female and therefore normal male-female pair-bonding. Coyotes are mon-estrus, therefore PZP contraception during the breeding season of February and March could provide year-round protection. This paper reviews 9 years of research on PZP immunocontraception, starting from a multi-shot PZP vaccine using Freund’s adjuvant, to the development and testing of two single-shot preparations combined with a newly developed adjuvant (AdjuVac™). We provide insights into the false assumption that one contraceptive vaccine fits all species and situations.

Coyotes have expanded their range throughout much of North America, aided by the extirpation of wolves, alteration and transformation of habitat, and urban sprawl. Humanized landscapes have worked to the coyote’s advantage by offering an abundance of food, water, and shelter. Unfortunately, intentional and unintentional feeding of coyotes has also resulted in increased encounters and conflicts. How communities address such conflicts generates impassioned debate. Many state wildlife agencies and local municipalities lack the resources to effectively implement proactive strategies before encounters escalate to conflicts. Moreover, lack of agency coordination, combined with a largely uneducated populace, hinders effective conflict resolution. Consequently, responses to coyote conflicts are usually reactive and fail to address the root causes of most conflicts, i.e. a constant food source. Failure to address these root causes often leads to a vicious cycle of trapping and killing. Moreover, inconsistent and exaggerated reports of coyote attacks can lead to heightened public fears, which may limit the opportunity for establishing long-lasting proactive coexistence strategies. This paper provides an overview of coyote ecology in urbanized landscapes and considers several case studies of communities that have developed effective coyote coexistence programs.

The economic impact of introduced predators, principally wild dogs, foxes, and feral pigs, on agriculture in Australia varies across space and time but is estimated to be in excess of US$120 million annually. Australian farmers and the government spend a further US$30 million annually attempting to manage the predation and disease impacts of introduced predators on stock and wildlife. The principal chemical tool used to control each of these species is sodium fluoroacetate (‘1080’). Issues relating to target-specificity and perceived inhumaneness of the toxin have led to heavily restricted use of the compound in the U.S. and a recent registration review in Australia. Three current proactive research projects are addressing this issue. The first is investigating a chemical, p-aminopropiophenone or PAPP, that appears to be selectively toxic for introduced carnivores, as well as rapid acting and relatively humane in its mode of action. The compound acts by interfering with oxygen transport in the blood of foxes and wild dogs, resulting in an effect similar to carbon monoxide poisoning. The second project involves testing and commercializing powerful fox, wild dog, and feral pig attractants that may help increase the efficacy and target-specificity of control programs. The first product from this project is FeralMone®, an aerosolized formulation of synthetic fermented egg that is highly attractive to canids. The third project has involved developing a manufactured target-specific feral pig bait package, PIGOUT®. Initial research has focused on the delivery vehicle that contains sodium fluoracetate centralized in an internal core, whilst current research is developing a recently identified humane alternative feral pig control agent. This paper will report on the economic impact of introduced predators in Australia, the recent Australian sodium fluoroacetate review recommendations, as well as summaries of current research into new predator control tools.

This paper describes issues and concepts relevant to economic modeling of oral rabies vaccination (ORV) campaigns for managing wildlife rabies. Economic models of ORV are mathematical expressions used to predict and draw inferences about the costs and savings likely to be recouped by these rabies management efforts. Costs that are prevented due to ORV campaigns convert to savings. Comparison of campaign duration, bait cost, bait density, and bait distribution data for North American ORV campaigns showed that: 1) campaigns are lengthy, 2) those involving raccoons entail greater bait densities (i.e., related bait costs) and per unit area bait-distribution costs than those involving foxes and coyotes, and 3) all entail “enhanced” surveillance and establishment of maintenance barriers (i.e., deter translocation or reintroduction of new cases) upon completion. Key modeling issues were: model parameterization, ORV cost variables (i.e., bait costs, bait densities, and unit area distribution costs), time horizon, contingency costs, and ORV host specificity.

New York City, New York is a uniquely ideal urban habitat for the Norway rat. There are several reasons for this, but foremost is New York’s being one of America’s oldest seaport cities and the most densely populated city in the U.S., with a population of at least 8.2 million residents, all living within only a 321-square-mile area. Thus, food resources are readily abundant and easily accessible to rats. So, too, is an abundance of rat harborage resources, ranging from earthen burrows, to a myriad of subterranean harborages within city infrastructures, to the structural harborages associated with the city’s buildings numbering in the millions. Such conditions allow the opportunistic brown rat to proliferate, spread, and repeatedly rebound from extermination campaigns that have been directed at it for over a 200-year period. This paper presents a profile of the brown rat as a major urban pest of New York City and its impact within the context of New York’s daily operations. An overview is presented of the City of New York’s infrastructure and city management agencies of most relevance in rat management programs, and of the city’s collaborative interagency approaches.

The Bailey beaver trap is a suitcase-type beaver trap manufactured by the Tomahawk Live Trap Company. Although an effective tool in capturing beaver, it is known for its high misfire rate. This paper explains and expands upon Richard Buech’s tips for modifying and employing the Bailey beaver trap, which can reduce the misfire rate by 50%.

The 21st century is witness to an unprecedented and rapid growth of human settlements, from urban centers to wilderness vacation resorts. Concurrent with this has been the growing tolerance and acceptance of many wild animals and humans for one another. This has created an expanding ‘zone’ of human-animal contacts, some number of which invariably result in conflicts. While the vast majority of our interactions with wild animals are undoubtedly benign, it is the conflict between wildlife and people that draws particularly close attention from the public. Animals viewed as vertebrate “pests” range from the small to the large, the timid to the fierce, and the benign to the dangerous. With respect to all is the issue that bridges both environmental and social concerns– what is the ‘right’ thing to do about resolving conflicts? Wildlife agencies in North America continue to stress traditional approaches to managing wildlife problems by focusing on regulated hunting, trapping, and poisoning. Yet contemporary human-wildlife conflicts have scientific, political, and moral dimensions that are not well addressed by those traditions. Controversy and polarization arise from differing ethics of how we ought to live with non-human animals. Wildlife protection interests argue that many common and current wildlife control practices, such as the drowning of “nuisance” animals, are ethically ungrounded. A practical ethic guiding our response to human-animal conflicts is, they argue, therefore needed. This ethics should inform “pest” control policy and management, as well as articulate a vision of our place in a mixed community of people and animals. This paper explores this need.

In 2001, Marin County, California, replaced its Wildlife Services (WS) predator damage management effort with a county-run program that cost-shares non-lethal methods of predation reduction with ranchers and also compensates them for sheep and lamb losses. This paper attempts to compare the former WS program with the current program, using such variables as livestock lost to predators, coyotes and non-target animals killed, and program costs. Inconsistent data collection and lack of information make a clear comparison of the two programs difficult; however, some sheep producers continue to suffer predation loss rates that threaten the sustainability of their enterprises.

Urban wildlife control is a rapidly growing profession in which many practitioners apparently still come from a recreational or commercial trapping background. Perhaps for that reason, much of the “control” in resolving human-wildlife conflicts in cities and suburbs seems to revolve around the use of lethal traps to eliminate “problem” animals. Although some states allow relocation and most apparently allow for nuisance animals to be released on site, the extent to which these practices occur is little known. Further, the biological impacts of continual trapping cycles on urban wildlife populations remain little known as well. An alternative approach to trapping is to exclude problem animals, as is the generally accepted protocol with bats, taking care to avoid separating young from their mothers, or employing techniques to reunite mother and young through a carefully crafted reunion strategy. AAA Wildlife Control is a large wildlife control business based out of Toronto, Canada, that employs almost exclusively an exclusion-reunion strategy. This paper addresses the rationale for that approach and the general strategies the company uses for common problem species. Exclusion-reunion is arguably the most humane and biologically sound approach to wildlife conflict resolution, at least from the animal’s perspective, but questions will be raised about the potential transfer of “problems” from one site to another. These and other implications of this approach are raised and discussed based on multiple years of customer service.

Once extirpated from large parts of this country, the beaver has made a surprising comeback. However, the beaver’s return to its former range is accompanied by a rising number of complaints caused by beaver-created impoundments. Highway departments, homeowners, and government officials find themselves confronting costly damage to septic systems, road infrastructures, and property as a result of the beaver’s engineering ingenuity. The traditional response has been to trap and remove beavers, yet this solution is often short-term due to the continual immigration of beavers from the surrounding habitat. In addition, public attitude surveys reflect a growing desire for more humane solutions and rank animal suffering as a major determinant of which wildlife management practices are considered acceptable. To meet this growing need, two entities, The Humane Society of the United States and Beaver Solutions, Inc., established their own respective programs to help communities and homeowners resolve beaver problems through the use of water flow control devices (WFCDs), which present a relatively new, little known yet innovative concept. WFCDs are designed to control the water level, thereby preventing flooding, while allowing the beavers to remain in their habitat. This paper describes the social and ecological context for current beaver problems, how WFCDs function, gives installation and maintenance tips, and presents results of two surveys that assessed the effectiveness of WFCDs in alleviating beaver flooding problems in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The koala population on Kangaroo Island, South Australia has increased from 18 individuals, released in the 1920s for conservation purposes, to an estimated 27,000 in 2001. The selective browsing pressure of koalas on some eucalypt species, particularly rough-barked manna gum, has resulted in significant detrimental impacts to the riparian habitats of the island. In 1997, a management program was initiated to reduce koala densities and restore damaged habitats. Due to the iconic status of koalas, lethal control measures were rejected in favor of a program based on surgical sterilization and translocation. To date, around 6,000 koalas have been sterilized with around 2,700 of those translocated to suitable habitat in the koala’s former range in southeast South Australia. Although criticized as an expensive approach, the Koala Management Program has resulted in reduced population densities and improved tree condition in areas of intensive management. The Koala Management Program has been adaptive to match improved understanding of koala distribution, population size, and ecology on the island. This paper provides an overview of the koala issue on Kangaroo Island, and the management program implemented to restore damaged riparian habitats.

In natural recreation areas, habituated wildlife can pose a threat to visitor health and safety by transmitting disease or causing physical injury. Although removal of problem wildlife can help to alleviate these problems, it can also be a labor-intensive, costly practice. To improve the efficiency of a removal program, trapping efforts should be directed towards the spatial and temporal peaks of the target species’ activity patterns. An animal’s activity is often dictated by environmental conditions such as season or lunar phase; however, in a recreation area, it can also be affected by anthropogenic factors such as human presence and provisioning of food sources (i.e. trash cans or picnic areas). A species can 1) be attracted to anthropogenic food sources when human presence is highest, or 2) be attracted to anthropogenic food sources, but only when humans are not present, or 3) avoid anthropogenic food sources and human presence entirely. Each of these scenarios would necessitate a different management strategy to achieve the highest level of trapping efficiency. In the Caribbean National Forest, Puerto Rico, small Indian mongooses are currently controlled by removal trapping to reduce the threat of rabies transmission. Although trapping usually occurs diurnally near areas of high human use, it is unknown whether or not this strategy targets the highest number of animals. Using radiotelemetry, we investigated the movement behavior of 7 mongooses trapped in the picnic areas. We determined animals’ hourly travel distances, activity levels (moving or stationary), and distance of animal locations from human structures (trails, trash cans, and picnic cabanas); and compared these measures between days of high and low visitorship. The distance mongooses were found from human structures was not affected by the day of the week. Activity levels and movements varied by day, but it was unclear how this variation was affected by forest visitor levels. This paper will discuss

This paper presents a general summary of an economic assessment of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Wildlife Services (WS) Program in California (CA). Detailed analyses quantified WS economic benefits to each of the 38 counties that contributed cooperative funds in 2004, with an aggregate report of county results used to form an overall statewide estimate of the Program’s value. Four general categories of wildlife damage management activities were: Agriculture, Health and Human Safety, Natural Resources, and Property. Two general methods of determining economic valuation were employed to quantify benefits: replacement-cost method, and damage-avoided method. Results showed that the protection of livestock, particularly sheep, cattle, and goats, from predation was a main activity of WS–CA personnel in each of the cooperating counties. Annual estimated replacement costs for WS–CA operations for Year 1 and Year 2 of the analysis (i.e., approximately equivalent to fiscal years 2003 and 2004, respectively) totaled $6,605,234 and $8,602,590 for the combined counties, respectively. Mean replacement costs for WS operations in the cooperating counties in Year 1 and Year 2 equaled $173,821.95 and $226,373.13, respectively. Given that the counties paid an average $51,798.10 share to WS–CA in 2003, the counties would have incurred averaged net increased expenses of $122,023.85 and $174,575.03 for similar services offered by commercial wildlife damage management companies.

A billion-plus human population, agriculture, and development are shrinking and degrading the habitat of many of the 1,200 bird and 500 mammal species of India. With humans and herbivores competing for the same resources, many of them are becoming pests on crops. The granivorous birds depredate on selected cereals, sunflower, groundnut, and oil palm. Guava, grape, apple, sapota, pecan, pomegranate, and pineapple are damaged significantly by frugivore birds. Amongst vertebrate pests, rodents are the most destructive. A dozen species, viz. Rattus rattus, Bandicota bengalensis, B. indica, Millardia meltada, Mus booduga, M. platythrix, Mus musculus, Tatera indica, Meriones hurrianae, Funambulus pennanti, F. palmarum, F. tristriatus, and Hystrix indica are serious pests. Cereals, pulses, oil seeds, vegetables, fruits, and plantation crops are damaged considerably. Sown seeds, seedlings of maize, sorghum, sunflower, groundnut, red gram, tender coconut, oil palm, cardamom, and cocoa are depredated much more. Other vertebrate pests of significance are Pteropus giganteus, Cynopterus sphinx, Rousettus leschenaulti (bats), Boselaphus tragocamelus (Nilgai), Elephas maximus (elephant), Macaca mulatto, and Semnopithecus entellus (monkeys). Sporadically, other langurs, sloth bear, wild boar, hare, golden jackal, and peacock become pests. This paper reviews the lethal and non-lethal methods of managing this wide of array of vertebrate pests.

The koala population on Kangaroo Island, South Australia has increased from 18 individuals, released in the 1920s for conservation purposes, to an estimated 27,000 in 2001. The selective browsing pressure of koalas on some eucalypt species, particularly rough-barked manna gum, has resulted in significant detrimental impacts to the riparian habitats of the island. In 1997, a management program was initiated to reduce koala densities and restore damaged habitats. Due to the iconic status of koalas, lethal control measures were rejected in favor of a program based on surgical sterilization and translocation. To date, around 6,000 koalas have been sterilized with around 2,700 of those translocated to suitable habitat in the koala’s former range in southeast South Australia. Although criticized as an expensive approach, the Koala Management Program has resulted in reduced population densities and improved tree condition in areas of intensive management. The Koala Management Program has been adaptive to match improved understanding of koala distribution, population size, and ecology on the island. This paper provides an overview of the koala issue on Kangaroo Island, and the management program implemented to restore damaged riparian habitats.

Once extirpated from large parts of this country, the beaver has made a surprising comeback. However, the beaver’s return to its former range is accompanied by a rising number of complaints caused by beaver-created impoundments. Highway departments, homeowners, and government officials find themselves confronting costly damage to septic systems, road infrastructures, and property as a result of the beaver’s engineering ingenuity. The traditional response has been to trap and remove beavers, yet this solution is often short-term due to the continual immigration of beavers from the surrounding habitat. In addition, public attitude surveys reflect a growing desire for more humane solutions and rank animal suffering as a major determinant of which wildlife management practices are considered acceptable. To meet this growing need, two entities, The Humane Society of the United States and Beaver Solutions, Inc., established their own respective programs to help communities and homeowners resolve beaver problems through the use of water flow control devices (WFCDs), which present a relatively new, little known yet innovative concept. WFCDs are designed to control the water level, thereby preventing flooding, while allowing the beavers to remain in their habitat. This paper describes the social and ecological context for current beaver problems, how WFCDs function, gives installation and maintenance tips, and presents results of two surveys that assessed the effectiveness of WFCDs in alleviating beaver flooding problems in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The use of poisons for coyote control is controversial because of public opposition to lethal control of pest animals and the perceived environmental risks of pesticide use. The development of immunocontraception for population control of coyotes could result in a more acceptable alternative to poisons. Immunocontraception using porcine zona pellucida (PZP) would allow normal estrus in the female and therefore normal male-female pair-bonding. Coyotes are mon-estrus, therefore PZP contraception during the breeding season of February and March could provide year-round protection. This paper reviews 9 years of research on PZP immunocontraception, starting from a multi-shot PZP vaccine using Freund’s adjuvant, to the development and testing of two single-shot preparations combined with a newly developed adjuvant (AdjuVac™). We provide insights into the false assumption that one contraceptive vaccine fits all species and situations.

This paper presents a general summary of an economic assessment of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Wildlife Services (WS) Program in California (CA). Detailed analyses quantified WS economic benefits to each of the 38 counties that contributed cooperative funds in 2004, with an aggregate report of county results used to form an overall statewide estimate of the Program’s value. Four general categories of wildlife damage management activities were: Agriculture, Health and Human Safety, Natural Resources, and Property. Two general methods of determining economic valuation were employed to quantify benefits: replacement-cost method, and damage-avoided method. Results showed that the protection of livestock, particularly sheep, cattle, and goats, from predation was a main activity of WS–CA personnel in each of the cooperating counties. Annual estimated replacement costs for WS–CA operations for Year 1 and Year 2 of the analysis (i.e., approximately equivalent to fiscal years 2003 and 2004, respectively) totaled $6,605,234 and $8,602,590 for the combined counties, respectively. Mean replacement costs for WS operations in the cooperating counties in Year 1 and Year 2 equaled $173,821.95 and $226,373.13, respectively. Given that the counties paid an average $51,798.10 share to WS–CA in 2003, the counties would have incurred averaged net increased expenses of $122,023.85 and $174,575.03 for similar services offered by commercial wildlife damage management companies.

A billion-plus human population, agriculture, and development are shrinking and degrading the habitat of many of the 1,200 bird and 500 mammal species of India. With humans and herbivores competing for the same resources, many of them are becoming pests on crops. The granivorous birds depredate on selected cereals, sunflower, groundnut, and oil palm. Guava, grape, apple, sapota, pecan, pomegranate, and pineapple are damaged significantly by frugivore birds. Amongst vertebrate pests, rodents are the most destructive. A dozen species, viz. Rattus rattus, Bandicota bengalensis, B. indica, Millardia meltada, Mus booduga, M. platythrix, Mus musculus, Tatera indica, Meriones hurrianae, Funambulus pennanti, F. palmarum, F. tristriatus, and Hystrix indica are serious pests. Cereals, pulses, oil seeds, vegetables, fruits, and plantation crops are damaged considerably. Sown seeds, seedlings of maize, sorghum, sunflower, groundnut, red gram, tender coconut, oil palm, cardamom, and cocoa are depredated much more. Other vertebrate pests of significance are Pteropus giganteus, Cynopterus sphinx, Rousettus leschenaulti (bats), Boselaphus tragocamelus (Nilgai), Elephas maximus (elephant), Macaca mulatto, and Semnopithecus entellus (monkeys). Sporadically, other langurs, sloth bear, wild boar, hare, golden jackal, and peacock become pests. This paper reviews the lethal and non-lethal methods of managing this wide of array of vertebrate pests.

Urban wildlife control is a rapidly growing profession in which many practitioners apparently still come from a recreational or commercial trapping background. Perhaps for that reason, much of the “control” in resolving human-wildlife conflicts in cities and suburbs seems to revolve around the use of lethal traps to eliminate “problem” animals. Although some states allow relocation and most apparently allow for nuisance animals to be released on site, the extent to which these practices occur is little known. Further, the biological impacts of continual trapping cycles on urban wildlife populations remain little known as well. An alternative approach to trapping is to exclude problem animals, as is the generally accepted protocol with bats, taking care to avoid separating young from their mothers, or employing techniques to reunite mother and young through a carefully crafted reunion strategy. AAA Wildlife Control is a large wildlife control business based out of Toronto, Canada, that employs almost exclusively an exclusion-reunion strategy. This paper addresses the rationale for that approach and the general strategies the company uses for common problem species. Exclusion-reunion is arguably the most humane and biologically sound approach to wildlife conflict resolution, at least from the animal’s perspective, but questions will be raised about the potential transfer of “problems” from one site to another. These and other implications of this approach are raised and discussed based on multiple years of customer service.

The economic impact of introduced predators, principally wild dogs, foxes, and feral pigs, on agriculture in Australia varies across space and time but is estimated to be in excess of US$120 million annually. Australian farmers and the government spend a further US$30 million annually attempting to manage the predation and disease impacts of introduced predators on stock and wildlife. The principal chemical tool used to control each of these species is sodium fluoroacetate (‘1080’). Issues relating to target-specificity and perceived inhumaneness of the toxin have led to heavily restricted use of the compound in the U.S. and a recent registration review in Australia. Three current proactive research projects are addressing this issue. The first is investigating a chemical, p-aminopropiophenone or PAPP, that appears to be selectively toxic for introduced carnivores, as well as rapid acting and relatively humane in its mode of action. The compound acts by interfering with oxygen transport in the blood of foxes and wild dogs, resulting in an effect similar to carbon monoxide poisoning. The second project involves testing and commercializing powerful fox, wild dog, and feral pig attractants that may help increase the efficacy and target-specificity of control programs. The first product from this project is FeralMone®, an aerosolized formulation of synthetic fermented egg that is highly attractive to canids. The third project has involved developing a manufactured target-specific feral pig bait package, PIGOUT®. Initial research has focused on the delivery vehicle that contains sodium fluoracetate centralized in an internal core, whilst current research is developing a recently identified humane alternative feral pig control agent. This paper will report on the economic impact of introduced predators in Australia, the recent Australian sodium fluoroacetate review recommendations, as well as summaries of current research into new predator control tools.

In natural recreation areas, habituated wildlife can pose a threat to visitor health and safety by transmitting disease or causing physical injury. Although removal of problem wildlife can help to alleviate these problems, it can also be a labor-intensive, costly practice. To improve the efficiency of a removal program, trapping efforts should be directed towards the spatial and temporal peaks of the target species’ activity patterns. An animal’s activity is often dictated by environmental conditions such as season or lunar phase; however, in a recreation area, it can also be affected by anthropogenic factors such as human presence and provisioning of food sources (i.e. trash cans or picnic areas). A species can 1) be attracted to anthropogenic food sources when human presence is highest, or 2) be attracted to anthropogenic food sources, but only when humans are not present, or 3) avoid anthropogenic food sources and human presence entirely. Each of these scenarios would necessitate a different management strategy to achieve the highest level of trapping efficiency. In the Caribbean National Forest, Puerto Rico, small Indian mongooses are currently controlled by removal trapping to reduce the threat of rabies transmission. Although trapping usually occurs diurnally near areas of high human use, it is unknown whether or not this strategy targets the highest number of animals. Using radiotelemetry, we investigated the movement behavior of 7 mongooses trapped in the picnic areas. We determined animals’ hourly travel distances, activity levels (moving or stationary), and distance of animal locations from human structures (trails, trash cans, and picnic cabanas); and compared these measures between days of high and low visitorship. The distance mongooses were found from human structures was not affected by the day of the week. Activity levels and movements varied by day, but it was unclear how this variation was affected by forest visitor levels. This paper will discuss

This paper describes issues and concepts relevant to economic modeling of oral rabies vaccination (ORV) campaigns for managing wildlife rabies. Economic models of ORV are mathematical expressions used to predict and draw inferences about the costs and savings likely to be recouped by these rabies management efforts. Costs that are prevented due to ORV campaigns convert to savings. Comparison of campaign duration, bait cost, bait density, and bait distribution data for North American ORV campaigns showed that: 1) campaigns are lengthy, 2) those involving raccoons entail greater bait densities (i.e., related bait costs) and per unit area bait-distribution costs than those involving foxes and coyotes, and 3) all entail “enhanced” surveillance and establishment of maintenance barriers (i.e., deter translocation or reintroduction of new cases) upon completion. Key modeling issues were: model parameterization, ORV cost variables (i.e., bait costs, bait densities, and unit area distribution costs), time horizon, contingency costs, and ORV host specificity.

In 2001, Marin County, California, replaced its Wildlife Services (WS) predator damage management effort with a county-run program that cost-shares non-lethal methods of predation reduction with ranchers and also compensates them for sheep and lamb losses. This paper attempts to compare the former WS program with the current program, using such variables as livestock lost to predators, coyotes and non-target animals killed, and program costs. Inconsistent data collection and lack of information make a clear comparison of the two programs difficult; however, some sheep producers continue to suffer predation loss rates that threaten the sustainability of their enterprises.

Coyotes have expanded their range throughout much of North America, aided by the extirpation of wolves, alteration and transformation of habitat, and urban sprawl. Humanized landscapes have worked to the coyote’s advantage by offering an abundance of food, water, and shelter. Unfortunately, intentional and unintentional feeding of coyotes has also resulted in increased encounters and conflicts. How communities address such conflicts generates impassioned debate. Many state wildlife agencies and local municipalities lack the resources to effectively implement proactive strategies before encounters escalate to conflicts. Moreover, lack of agency coordination, combined with a largely uneducated populace, hinders effective conflict resolution. Consequently, responses to coyote conflicts are usually reactive and fail to address the root causes of most conflicts, i.e. a constant food source. Failure to address these root causes often leads to a vicious cycle of trapping and killing. Moreover, inconsistent and exaggerated reports of coyote attacks can lead to heightened public fears, which may limit the opportunity for establishing long-lasting proactive coexistence strategies. This paper provides an overview of coyote ecology in urbanized landscapes and considers several case studies of communities that have developed effective coyote coexistence programs.

The 21st century is witness to an unprecedented and rapid growth of human settlements, from urban centers to wilderness vacation resorts. Concurrent with this has been the growing tolerance and acceptance of many wild animals and humans for one another. This has created an expanding ‘zone’ of human-animal contacts, some number of which invariably result in conflicts. While the vast majority of our interactions with wild animals are undoubtedly benign, it is the conflict between wildlife and people that draws particularly close attention from the public. Animals viewed as vertebrate “pests” range from the small to the large, the timid to the fierce, and the benign to the dangerous. With respect to all is the issue that bridges both environmental and social concerns– what is the ‘right’ thing to do about resolving conflicts? Wildlife agencies in North America continue to stress traditional approaches to managing wildlife problems by focusing on regulated hunting, trapping, and poisoning. Yet contemporary human-wildlife conflicts have scientific, political, and moral dimensions that are not well addressed by those traditions. Controversy and polarization arise from differing ethics of how we ought to live with non-human animals. Wildlife protection interests argue that many common and current wildlife control practices, such as the drowning of “nuisance” animals, are ethically ungrounded. A practical ethic guiding our response to human-animal conflicts is, they argue, therefore needed. This ethics should inform “pest” control policy and management, as well as articulate a vision of our place in a mixed community of people and animals. This paper explores this need.

New York City, New York is a uniquely ideal urban habitat for the Norway rat. There are several reasons for this, but foremost is New York’s being one of America’s oldest seaport cities and the most densely populated city in the U.S., with a population of at least 8.2 million residents, all living within only a 321-square-mile area. Thus, food resources are readily abundant and easily accessible to rats. So, too, is an abundance of rat harborage resources, ranging from earthen burrows, to a myriad of subterranean harborages within city infrastructures, to the structural harborages associated with the city’s buildings numbering in the millions. Such conditions allow the opportunistic brown rat to proliferate, spread, and repeatedly rebound from extermination campaigns that have been directed at it for over a 200-year period. This paper presents a profile of the brown rat as a major urban pest of New York City and its impact within the context of New York’s daily operations. An overview is presented of the City of New York’s infrastructure and city management agencies of most relevance in rat management programs, and of the city’s collaborative interagency approaches.

The Bailey beaver trap is a suitcase-type beaver trap manufactured by the Tomahawk Live Trap Company. Although an effective tool in capturing beaver, it is known for its high misfire rate. This paper explains and expands upon Richard Buech’s tips for modifying and employing the Bailey beaver trap, which can reduce the misfire rate by 50%.