SANTA FE (New Mexico, US), Feb 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US wildlife authorities will shoot and kill around 150 ‘feral’ cows from a helicopter in a New Mexico wilderness area next week as a ‘public safety’ measure, officials said.
The ‘not domesticated’ animals are an invasive species that ‘pose a significant risk to public safety and natural resources,’ according to a statement Thursday from the Gila National Forest in the southwestern US state.
‘This has been a difficult decision, but the lethal removal of feral cattle from the Gila Wilderness is necessary to protect public safety, threatened and endangered species habitats, water quality, and the natural character of the Gila Wilderness,’ forest supervisor Camille Howes said in the statement.
‘The feral cattle in the Gila Wilderness have been aggressive towards wilderness visitors, graze year-round, and trample stream banks and springs, causing erosion and sedimentation,’ she said.
According to the Forest Service, shooting the cows from the air is the ‘most efficient and humane way to deal with this issue.’
The cattle — which were born in the wild and don’t belong to any farmers — have been causing damage within the protected wilderness area since the 1970’s, the agency said, by polluting the water and invading habitats designated for protected or endangered species.
The cows have even been known to charge at hiking tourists, the service said.
Wildlife officials tried to cull the same population last February, when 65 feral cattle were killed in the 1.2-million-hectare mountainous park, the forest service said.
Part of the forest — where Gila Wilderness, the first wilderness area designated as such in the United States, is located — will be closed starting Monday, with the shooting to take place from Feb 23 to Feb 26.
The cows’ bodies will be left to decompose, forest authorities said, but officials will ‘ensure no carcasses are adjacent to or in any water body or spring, designated hiking trail, or known culturally sensitive area.’ — NNN-AGENCIES
