Congress Mulls Bills Meant To Help Ranchers Defend Calves From Vultures

MARY HIGHTOWER

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS

Congress is mulling a pair of bills aimed at helping livestock producers protect their calves, kids and lambs from predatory vultures.

The bills, one in the U.S. House and the other in the Senate, target Coragyps atratus, the black vulture, a bird protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The law enacts treaties between the United States and Canada, in 1916; Mexico in 1936, Japan in 1972, and Russia in 1976. The law prohibits the “take” – killing, capturing, selling, trading, and transport – of protected migratory bird species without prior authorization by the Department of Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Vultures are known to be carrion-eaters, cleaning up roadkill or other carcasses. However, black vultures also hunt. Among its targets are newborn cattle, goats and sheep.

The species is found in North and South America and is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a species of “least concern.” While estimates suggest that black vultures are responsible for the loss of thousands of calves every year, as a protected species, the bird may not be killed without a permit.

Because of the complexities of the treaties, obtaining a permit is not a simple process and permits are limited. Arkansas producers, permits are available through an agreement with the Arkansas Farm Bureau. What once required a minimum of two or three weeks has been reduced to a couple of days.

The aim of the bills, HR1437 and S3358, both named the Black Vulture Relief Act of 2023, is to allow livestock producers to “take” black vultures without a permit so long as the take is necessary to protect livestock, said Brigit Rollins, staff attorney for the National Agricultural Law Center.

In November, Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma introduced the Black Vulture Relief Act which would allow livestock producers to take black vultures without a permit so long as the take is necessary to protect livestock. A similar bill was introduced in the House last March by Rep. John Rose of Tennessee.

“It’s an issue that's been gaining prominence over the last few years, so the fact that a bill has been introduced in Congress specifically addressing it speaks to how quickly this issue has risen in importance,” Rollins said.  

Cattle losses

Dana Martin Stewart of Martin Cattle Company in Judsonia has lost calves to vultures through the years. 

“It is extremely frustrating to see our calves hunted by vultures and to have very little recourse,” she said. “We spend a lot of extra time during calving season checking pastures, making sure they are up and able to nurse before the vultures get to them first.

“Losing a calf because of vultures is not only an economic loss, but also a loss of genetics that have been years in the making,” Stewart said.

In the fall of 2023, representatives from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the United States Cattlemen’s Association testified to Congress about the costs of vulture predation.

“They were reporting that the number of producers affected by black vultures could range anywhere from 15 percent per state to as high as 33 percent of producers in heavily impacted areas such as Florida,” said Maggie Justice, extension beef production specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services reported “that black vulture attacks on cattle increased by almost 25 percent between 2020 to 2022, based on the cases in which they were called to assist,” Justice said.

“Oftentimes the vultures are going after calves as they are being born and the loss of a newborn calf can cost a producer on average, $2,000 or higher,” Justice said. “And that number only increases if the dam is harmed at this time as well.”

Quantifying attacks is difficult. Cows often calve out of sight of humans and humans often don’t catch the birds in the act of killing livestock.

“Some livestock producers might assume the loss was to a coyote. Other times it could be a stillborn calf,” said Becky McPeake, extension wildlife specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “By the time the producer arrives, they might see the vultures cleaning up the carcass, not knowing whether the birds caused the death or not.”

Vulture behavior

There are two vulture species in Arkansas. Turkey vultures are characterized by their red heads, and black vultures, with black heads. Both are year-round residents.

“Turkey vultures typically are solitary and seek carcasses by smell and sight. As a single bird, they are not known to take live animals and are relatively unaggressive,” McPeake said. “Black vultures are aggressive, as they work in groups and attack vulnerable animals. Black vultures are also known to follow a turkey vulture and rob them of their carcass.”

McPeake said that “some attribute climate change to their spread from their southern range into the U.S. As they have spread northward, more producers have been impacted.”

USDA, in its publication “Vultures,” also suggests that a ban on the pesticide DDT in 1972 may have also helped vulture populations.

“Also, vultures have benefited from fragmentation of the landscape by humans, which creates mosaics of forested and open areas for roosting, nesting and foraging,” the USDA publication states. “Vultures have clearly adapted and thrived in the presence of human activity.”  

Helping ranchers

Justice said if a producer does not have a permit, there are some ways to help protect their herd:

• Making sure that cattle calve in areas near human activity. “This will not only help in case of emergencies during calving but can also help to keep an eye out for vultures taking an interest in your group.”
• Scare off black vultures with loud noises so they won't return to your pasture.
• Find and change whatever is attracting the vultures to a pasture before they become established.
• Consider adding guard animals to the herd such as guardian dogs or donkeys.

“The biggest piece of advice would be that as soon as you see a black vulture near your property reach out to your Wildlife Service and your county extension agent for assistance looking into the correct depredation permits, as well as reimbursement for animal losses through the Livestock Indemnity Program,” Justice said.

The Cooperative Extension Service has additional information on black vultures. ∆

MARY HIGHTOWER: University of Arkansas