Development of wildlife damage management: a personal perspective

During my professional career, many changes have occurred in the management of wildlife damage and human–wildlife conflicts, including some dramatic changes in people’s attitudes. ... Vertebrate pest control has now become a sophisticated scientific field. It is recognized that the factors responsible for some species of birds and mammals becoming pests are many. A species can overpopulate due to changes in habitat, lessening of predation, lack of competition with other species, or by transmitting disease. Additionally, the National Academy of Sciences’ National Research Council Agricultural Board recognized that wildlife and other competitors of agriculture are important to the economy of the whole country