19 wild cows killed in U.S. aerial shooting operation
CTV
A specialized team of wildlife managers has killed 19 wild cows in the Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico as part of a contested project to rid the area of the unauthorized animals.
A specialized team of wildlife managers has killed 19 wild cows in the Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico as part of a contested project to rid the area of the unauthorized animals.
The three-day operation used a helicopter and high powered rifles to take out the cows in a rugged area where federal officials and environmentalists say the animals have been trampling stream banks, damaging habitat for other species and ruining water quality.
The U.S. Forest Service had estimated there were as many as 150 of the unauthorized cows in an area along the Gila River.
The agency said Tuesday that searches were conducted with the naked eye and through thermal imagery. The crew spotted significant numbers of elk, deer, javelina and even rabbits -- but no additional cattle were found following the operation.
The carcasses will be left in the forest to decompose and the Forest Service plans to monitor the area.
Ranchers had opposed the project, saying rounding up the animals and removing them would have been a more humane way to clear them out of the wilderness. They accused the Forest Service of violating its own policies, but a federal judge denied their request to sideline the project, saying the cows were indeed feral and the Forest Service had the authority to kill them.
Gila Forest Supervisor Camille Howes said a combination of ground-based and aerial removal efforts since October 2021 have substantially reduced the feral cattle population.
