Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for Vertebrates: Do We Need to Broaden this Concept?

The concepts and practices of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) are historically grounded in programs aimed at insects and disease-causing organisms affecting agriculture. When applied to vertebrates, IPM concepts have most often been used in rodent control programs. Still, IPM is a powerful model that arguably can, and should, apply to conflicts with any “pest” or problem-causing organism. It may be time to examine contemporary IPM approaches and their relation to traditional vertebrate pest control more closely. Vertebrate IPM should encompass not only the development of sound and practical steps to shape decision-making and actions, but a dialogue about ethics as well. From such dialogue, codes of practice that combine IPM concepts with standards developed elsewhere for vertebrate pest control should be forthcoming