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Overlooked & Underrated Docs & Features
(click on broll or dschwartz for all his posts)
Wild Things: Saving Large Predators
Produced by the Natural Resources Defense Council, and released in 2013, “Wild Things” is a call for us Americans to stop killing large predators which we do via the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wild Life Services—mostly driven by ranchers’ requests.
The film presents a brief quote from Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio speaking to the House of Representatives at a 2012 debate over Agricultural Department spending. DeFazio comments, “We’ve spent about a billion on this program, during its duration, by the federal government. A billion. And during that time—because they’re not following biology or any sensibility—the coyote population has tripled, despite the billion dollars.”
Later he makes a comment which summarizes the documentary’s point about our killing of predators, “It’s ineffective, inhumane, and it’s expensive.”
The film adds one more point: Killing these predators damages ecological systems which in turn, creates more loss of species and other environmental problems.
Advocates for ending our annual tax payer-supported killing speak of the massive annual slaughter as well as the more effective ways ranchers can keep their livestock out of harm’s way. These advocates include former employees of Wild Life Services.