PREDATOR PROBLEMS WHEN USING SHEEP AND GOATS IN MANAGING BRUSH ON RANGELANDS

Rangelands occupy a large portion of the western United States and the world. Grazing by ruminant animals provides the only means of obtaining usable products from these lands. Sheep and goats are more efficient producers, better adapted to many ranges, and are useful in controlling or manipulating shrubs and other undesirable vegetation which results in improved range conditions and increased water yields. There has been a general decline in sheep and goat numbers and a shift toward cattle. Predation has been a major factor in the abandonment of many sheep and goat operations and the shift to other livestock. A viable range sheep and goat industry can survive only with an adequate predator management program that includes all methods of protecting livestock as well as all available lethal methods