Most Americans are probably unfamiliar with the federal government’s taxpayer-subsidized killing campaign carried out every year against public wildlife on public lands, most of them located in the West.

Most are probably unaware that their hard-earned money, paid in taxes to Uncle Sam, helps to operate a federal agency known as Wildlife Services, a branch of the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

One of Wildlife Service’s primary missions is functioning essentially as a protective hit squad for privately-owned cattle and sheep producers allowed to graze their animals on public land grass at rates that haven’t risen much in over half a century.


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Rachel Tilseth's avatar

By Rachel Tilseth

I am a Menomonie, Wisconsin-based environmental writer, filmmaker, and owner of Wolves of Douglas County WI Films & Media. My work explores the relationships between humans, wildlife, and local ecosystems, focusing on threats to vulnerable habitats. Through independent, grassroots media, I advocate for sustainable coexistence with apex predators and educate the public on ecological economics. My award-winning short film, People & Wolves: A Story of Coexistence, won Best Documentary Short at the Red Cedar Film Festival and features insights from Dr. Jane Goodall, Ojibwa tribal members, hunters, and biologists.

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