ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An environmental group is supporting a U.S. Forest Service plan to put a dent in the feral cattle population on national forest land near the New Mexico-Arizona border.
The Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement Monday that it “commends” the federal agency for trying to remove unowned, feral cows that can threaten sensitive habitat along streams and wetlands in the Gila Wilderness. The plan calls for wildlife agents to shoot down unbranded livestock from helicopters.
The Center says unowned feral cows are “dangerous and destructive.” Ranchers are concerned about the ability of the wildlife agents to distinguish branded from unbranded livestock.