This commentary is by Laura Smith-Riva, a native Vermont livestock farmer residing in Montpelier.
Killing wildlife to protect livestock in Vermont is a myth perpetuated by those who apparently enjoy killing wildlife for sport or are too indifferent or ignorant to protect their livestock. This is often under the guise of “wildlife management.”
As a native Vermonter who grew up on a farm in Vermont and who is currently farming livestock in Vermont, I have had many encounters with wildlife and I believe that all farmers have a responsibility to take steps to ethically protect their livestock from predation and to do so without the unnecessary killing or wanton waste of wildlife. Coexistence with wildlife should be a first priority.
I will also add that on occasion, an individual wild animal can become a problem to the extent where the only option is to remove that animal from the landscape, and this may require lethal means. In my opinion, this should be a rare occurrence and the exception rather than the norm.
Recently a neighbor told me that she knew of someone nearby who killed three foxes and a coyote because they were “getting after his chickens.” All of these animals were seen on my property over the last three years hunting rodents, eating apples and generally adding to the overall beauty of the landscape. The fox had gotten after my free-ranging chickens and, after losing a few, I put my chickens behind an electric fence and shut them in at night. I haven’t lost any more chickens to the fox.
I had seen a pair of coyotes on my property checking out my lambs last spring. One of them was a three-legged coyote who probably lost that leg to a leg-hold trap (another “wildlife management” tactic that must be reevaluated in the Vermont landscape). I was happy to see that coyote had survived and I went down to check my fences and ensure they had the proper charge and were installed correctly.
Sadly, the three-legged coyote was the one my neighboring farmer killed and is the reason for my writing this commentary. In my opinion, this was a pointless killing of an animal that had already sacrificed so much at the altar of “sportsmen” in Vermont.
Having raised sheep for many years in Vermont, I have come to believe that 99% of the loss of livestock from depredation is due to husbandry errors, lack of responsible care, and fencing issues. Unlike Western states, where ranchers maintain animals on thousands of acres of unfenced territory, Vermont farmers are running their livestock on enclosed tracts of land.
It is the farmers’ responsibility to review their management plans and to include in that plan a strategy to maintain their livestock in such a way as to limit losses due to depredation.
During my years farming in Vermont, each time I would hear of sheep lost to coyotes, I would ask the farmers questions. Virtually 100% of the time, it was determined that the losses were due to coyotes entering fencing that was either inadequately installed or improperly maintained. It is not difficult to keep coyotes out of places you don’t want them.
When I was a child, I walked many miles of fence line helping my dad repair breaks, replacing insulators and pulling fallen branches off our electric fences that contained our herd of beef shorthorn. We also built our chicken coop to withstand predators such as raccoons and weasels. I never knew my dad to kill a single wild animal and we never lost a calf to depredation.
Today’s fencing and predator technologies allow for much more innovative approaches to livestock management.
If you are looking for fencing options that will repel wildlife from your garden, livestock, bees, compost or other areas of your property, there are many options for affordable electric netting with either small scale electric fence chargers, include solar for more remote operations (we used solar successfully for years during summer months when our sheep were on more remote fields). Premier 1 Supplies offers great electric fence starter kits. There are many options.
Other methods that may help with predation include the use of motion-sensing lights around vulnerable areas, and the use of “red eye” systems that trick predators into believing another predator is already on site.
Research products like NiteGuard Predator Control. Netting over chicken coops can deter owls and other avian predators. Birthing livestock inside as opposed to on pasture will help limit wildlife interest.
Vermont wildlife is a public trust resource that all Vermonters are entitled to enjoy. As humans living in a world where wildlife habitat continues to shrink and be compromised and where more animals go extinct every year, we have a responsibility to take the necessary steps to coexist with wildlife. I sure do miss that three-legged coyote.
