Going Wild

When things get out of control, sometimes, the best response is to go a little wild.

For years, the United States Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services agency has operated without oversight, killing thousands of wild animals, especially predators, in the process. Predator Defense, an environmental group based in Oregon, helped bring Wildlife Services' operations to light with last year's documentary, Exposed. Watch it below:



By revealing the negative impacts of Wild Services' illegal techniques, Predator Defense provided both a need and an opportunity to address the issue of how we interact with wildlife. The Natural Resources Defense Council took that opportunity to introduce alternatives that foster coexistence. Picking up where Predator Defense left off with Exposed, the NRDC recently released a documentary called Wild Things. The film looks at the problems with Wild Services' handing of wildlife and shows how ranchers and other landowners have successfully turned to nonlethal means of responding to the presence of predators. Check out the trailer below:



With its emphasis on people adapting to wildlife, a concern for the larger ecosystem, and the questioning of humans' domination of nature, Wild Things calls on us to rethink the blind eradication of animals. Just as importantly, it gives us a new vision and provides examples of how to achieve that ideal.

In the case of Wildlife Services, it makes sense that we turn to the wild to restore order.

Sharing Sadness

Important note: The video I am posting and blogging about tonight is very sad. However, in an effort to help the affected family and others like them and to try to work toward preventing anything like this from happening in the future, I want to share it.



The trap that killed Maggie the dog and the approach being taken to address animals we have identified as "problems" need to be reevaluated. They put us and those we love at risk, and they represent one of the ugliest ways we touch nature. I think letting the US Department of Agriculture know that it needs to rethink its operations is an important first step. By taking this approach to dealing with wildlife, the agency is creating the type of world that I don't like living in, one full of secrets, danger, fear, and senseless killing and absent of accountability and compassion.

For more information about the issue, click here.