Non-lethal predation control by U.S. sheep ranchers

Author(s): Connolly, Guy; Wagner, Bruce | Abstract: The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) surveyed U.S. sheep producers to determine the kinds of non-lethal (NL) predator control measures they used in 1994. An analysis of responses from 8,451 sheep producers showed that 34% of the nation’s sheep producers used fencing, 25% used husbandry, 20% used guard animals, 4% used frightening tactics, 0.3% used aversion, and 3% used other methods. Because NL methods tended to be used more in large sheep operations than on small farms, the percentages of sheep protected by each NL control method were higher than the percentages of sheep producers using the method. Approximately 33% of all sheep in the U.S. were protected by fencing, 40% by husbandry, 39% by guard animals, 12% by frightening tactics, 2% by aversion, and 5% by other methods. Overall, 55% of U.S. sheep producers used one or more NL predator control methods in 1974, and 70% of the nation’s sheep were protected by one or more NL methods.