Many farmers and ranchers delight in the wildlife who share the land with them. And they’re as outraged as we are, at the Center, about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program, which kills millions of wild animals each year.
The good news is that the federal ban on Wildlife Services’ use of cyanide bombs, known as M-44s, dramatically reduced the number of wild animals killed by this brutal poisoning in 2025. The Center’s efforts have helped reduce the number of animals poisoned by cyanide from 4,664 to 202.
In 2024 the U.S. Bureau of Land Management banned Wildlife Services from using these dangerous devices on the public lands it manages. The following year saw a 20-fold decline in wildlife deaths from these indiscriminate weapons. But in 2026, under the Trump administration, the BLM reversed course and lifted the Biden-era ban. That will have devastating consequences for wildlife.
In 2025 Wildlife Services killed 375,616 native wild animals. That includes 23,421 beavers (only 109 beavers were freed, and 48 were dispersed) — despite how much we know about beavers’ importance to their ecosystems, water resources, fighting climate change, and overall wetland excellence. The program also killed at least 61,266 coyotes — not including 117 sets of pups snuffed out in their dens — as well as 402 black bears (11 killed unintentionally) and three grizzly bears. Many of these wild animals were killed on behalf of livestock operators, particularly those who graze cattle and sheep in the West.
Wildlife Services does employ nonlethal solutions to livestock conflicts, and its researchers are heavily funded to study these alternatives, including range riders, guard animals (e.g. dogs, donkeys, llamas), and methods like lights and fencing. The program knows nonlethal alternatives work, but it continues to kill wildlife.
Wildlife Services also kills many native species at the behest of the farming industry — with reckless, ineffective, outdated, and cruel methods.
The Center has won lawsuits holding policymakers accountable for funding Wildlife Services contracts without legally required environmental review, and in several cases our attorneys have shut these efforts down.
Until the biodiversity impact of food is accounted for — including how many wild animals in wild places are killed on behalf of the meat industry — the full environmental accounting of our meals isn’t complete. That’s why the Center’s work on food-system transformation includes efforts in law and policy to protect wildlife, as well as long-term advocacy to shift diets to help protect wildlife affected by animal agriculture. The travesty of Wildlife Services is one more reason why eating a more plant-based diet is best for wildlife.
Take Action
Call on the BLM to reinstate the ban on M-44 cyanide bomb devices.
Other Ways You Can Help
- Ask your city or county officials not to contract with Wildlife Services and instead work to coordinate nonlethal solutions with food producers and fund solutions that work.
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If you’re a rancher or farmer, collaborate with local agencies, nonprofits, and wildlife rescues to implement nonlethal solutions.
- Lean more about eating an Earth-friendly diet to help protect wildlife.
For the wild,
