U.S. wildlife agent accused of trapping a neighbor's dog [View all]

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http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/31/5153892/us-wildlife-agent-accused-of-trapping.html

U.S. wildlife agent accused of trapping a neighbor's dog

By Tom Knudson
[e-mail]

Published: Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 7A

The arrest of a federal Wildlife Services trapper in Arizona earlier this month on a charge of animal cruelty has sparked renewed concern about the little-known agency.

Wildlife Services, which was the focus of a Bee investigative series last year, is a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that specializes in destroying and dispersing animals considered to be a threat to agriculture, the public and the environment.

Since 2000, employees have killed more than 1 million coyotes and other predators, along with many other species, from nonnative starlings and wild pigs to migratory shorebirds, beaver, porcupines, river otters and other native wildlife.

In the process, they have also accidentally killed more than 50,000 non-target animals, from domestic dogs to golden eagles and black bears, The Bee investigation found.

In Arizona, Wildlife Services employee Russell Files is accused of setting traps with the specific intent of capturing a neighbor's dog he found troublesome.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/31/5153892/us-wildlife-agent-accused-of-trapping.html#storylink=cpy