OPENING REMARKS - THIRD VERTEBRATE PEST CONFERENCE

To open this Third Vertebrate Pest Conference is a real privilege. It is a pleasure to welcome all of you in attendance, and I know there are others who would like to be meeting with us, but, for one reason or another cannot be. However, we can serve them by taking back the results of discussion and by making available the printed transactions of what is said here. It has been the interest and demand for the proceedings of the two previous conferen- ces which, along with personal contacts many of you have with the sponsoring committee, have gauged the need for continuing these meetings. The National Pest Control Association officers who printed the 1962 proceedings still are supplying copies of that conference. Two reprintings of the 1964 conference have been necessary and repeat orders from several universities indicate that those proceedings have become textbooks for special classes. When Dr. Howard mentioned in opening the first Conference in 1962 that publication of those papers would make a valuable handbook of animal control, he was prophetic, indeed. We are pleased that this has happened, but not surprised, since to many of us in this specialized field, the conferences have provided a unique opportunity to meet colleagues with similar interests, to exchange information on control techniques and to be informed by research workers of problem solving investigations as well as to hear of promising basic research. The development of research is a two-way street and we think these conferences also identify areas of inadequate knowledge, thereby stimulating needed research. We have represented here a number of types of specialists—animal ecologists, public health and transmissible disease experts, control methods specialists, public agency administration and enforcement staffs, agricultural extension people, manufacturing and sale industry representatives, commercial pest control operators, and others—and in addition to improving communications among these professional groups an equally important purpose of these conferences is to improve understanding between them and the general public. Within the term general public are many individuals and also organizations dedicated to appreciation and protection of certain animal forms or animal life in general. Proper concepts of vertebrate pest control do not conflict with such views. It is worth repeating for the record the definition of "vertebrate pest" which has been stated at our previous conferences. "A vertebrate pest is any native or introduced, wild or feral, non-human spe- cies of vertebrate animal that is currently troublesome locally or over a wide area to one or more persons either by being a general nuisance, a health hazard or by destroying food or natural resources. In other words, vertebrate pest status is not an inherent quality or fixed classification but is a circumstantial relationship to man's interests." I believe progress has been made in reducing the misunderstanding and emotion with which vertebrate pest control was formerly treated whenever a necessity for control was stated. If this is true, I likewise believe it is deserved, because control methods and programs have progressed. Control no longer refers only to population reductions by lethal means. We have learned something of alternate control approaches and the necessity for studying the total environment; where reduction of pest animal numbers is the required solution to a problem situation we have a wider choice of more selective, safe and efficient materials. Although increased attention has been given to control methods, research when we take a close look at the severity of animal damage to so many facets of our economy, particularly to agricultural production and public health, we realize it still is pitifully small and slow. The tremendous acceleration of the world's food and health requirements seems to demand expediting vertebrate pest control to effectively neutralize the enormous impact of animal damage to vital resources. The efforts we are making here at problem delineation, idea communication and exchange of methodology could well serve as both nucleus and rough model for a broader application elsewhere. I know we all hope this Third Conference will advance these general objectives, and I think there is no doubt of its value in increasing our own scope of information.

The Probe, Issue 210 – May/June 2000

NADCA Election in Progress Berryman Institute Announces 1999 Awards New Probe Editor to be Appointed: Larry Sullivan Ken Garner Retires Book Review: "Master Land Snaring: Canine and Coon Techniques, Effective in All Terrains." by Newt Sterling as told to Bob Noonan. 1999. 58 pages, illustrated. NPCA Gets New Name Lobster Plates: PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is fighting to prevent the return of the lobster to Maine's automobile license plates. Active Antis in the Northwest Animal Rights Violence on Increase Abstracts from the 6th Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society: Monitoring of Sin Nombre Hantavirus in deer mice of the Southwest, USA -- Robinson, Rhonda /., Kathryn D. Bennett, James R. Biggs, Timothy K. Haarmann, David C. Keller, and Mary E. Salisbury Predators in the classroom: A prickly paradigm for educators -- Rollins, Dale Trends in bat rabies in the U.S.: Shaping public health policy -- Rupprecht, Charles E., Sharon B. Messenger, and Jean S. Smith

The Probe, Issue 229 – July/August 2003

• Human/Wildlife Conflicts in Ethiopia -- Jeff Peter sen, Berryman Institute, Utah State University • NADCA 2004 Election • If the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) originated in Asia, why is this rat commonly called a Norway rat? • Book Review: When Raccoons Fall through Your Ceiling: The Handbook for Coexisting with Wildlife by Andrea Dawn Lopez. • Antarctic Scientist Dies in Seal Attack: Research scientist, Kirsty Brown was snorkelling in waters close to the Rothera Research Station as part of her studies when a Leopard seal pulled her under. • Giant Lizards Spreading Through the Gulf Coast: Cape Coral, Florida has become a haven for Nile monitor lizards, and their population, which continues to grow, has possibly reached the thousands in the Gulf Coast city. • Monkeypox Outbreak: An Alert • NADCA 2004 Ballot

The Probe, Issue 223 – July/August 2002

• Suburban Invasion! By Wildlife? -- Michelle L. Shuey, Southwest Texas State University • What are the health risks of consuming meat from deer or elk infected with Chronic Wasting Disease ? • The 68th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference is set for March 26-30, 2003, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina • Book Review: Living in the Shadows: How to Help the Stray Cat in Your Life (Without Adding to the Problem) by Ann K. Fisher.--“I was impressed with her chapter on taming feral cats. It would certainly take a dedicated soul to put that much work into taming a cat.” • Goose School: the first National Goose Management Training Academy in Indianapolis, Indiana (June 8 & 9, 2002) -- Larry Sullivan • The California Contractors State License Board, (CSLB), recently approved a new sub-classification in its Non-Specialty Contractors License category. The new license is listed as C-61/D-64 "Animal Damage and Bird Control". • Los Angeles animal control recently approved increased efforts to control coyotes in residential areas by using traditional deterrent programs. • Identifying Predator Kills: Texas A&M has a website with some excellent photos to help identify predator kills of livestock. See http://texnat.tamu.edu/ranchref/predator/p-gen.htm • History of Wolf Attacks in Europe and Asia -- Barton Stam, Utah State University

Wildlife Damage to Seedlings in Reforested Hardwood Sites in Mississippi

Herbivory assessments were conducted on seven reforested sites that were less than one year old in the following Mississippi counties: Bolivar, Leflore, and Attala. At each site, 100ft. x 100 ft. plots were established and randomly selected seedlings were marked and measured to determine seedling species, height, condition, survival, and type and extent of animal feeding sign. Surveys were conducted in March/April, May, and August 2004. Herbivory rates were highest during May with approximately 47% of seedlings showing signs of herbivory. In March/April and August, the percentage of seedlings exhibiting signs of herbivory was 37% and 30%, respectively. Foraging by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was recorded on > 90% of the damaged seedlings during each survey. Tree mortality for all study sites and tree species was negligible, with the highest amount (7%) recorded during August, despite the recorded rates of herbivory by white-tailed deer. Herbivory by rabbits (Sylvilagus spp.) and rodents occurred on approximately 6% of the seedlings throughout the 2004 growing season.

Resolving conflicts with Canada geese: an animal welfare perspective

The scope and significance of human conflicts with urban and suburban Canada goose populations has been growing rapidly since the mid 1980s. A lack of basic understanding about the biology and ecology of locally abundant goose populations has led, in part, to argument between opposing camps over the appropriate approaches and methodologies to resolve human-goose conflicts. Animal welfare interests have focused on the humaneness of roundup and slaughter programs, and advocated non-lethal approaches coupled with what they view as the more benign population control activity of egg addling. Some traditional wildlife managers have argued that non-lethal approaches have been tried and have failed, and that procedures such as addling do not work quickly or effectively. Differences have led to legal confrontations that absorb considerable energy and effort and may make cooperative involvement more difficult. This paper articulates some of the arguments that comprises the basis for the perspective of animal welfarists. It ends with a call for greater cooperation and involvement between all interests concerned with Canada geese.

BLACKBIRD DAMAGE AND CONTROL--AN INFORMAL SEMINAR

The object is to hash over a few problems as we see them on this red-winged blackbird situation. I'm Mel Dyer, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario. Around the table are Tom Stockdale, Extension Wildlife Specialist, Ohio Cooperative Extension Service, Columbus; Maurice Giltz, Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center, Wooster, Ohio; Joe Halusky, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbus, Ohio; Daniel Stiles, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.; Paul Rodeheffer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbus, Ohio; Brian Hall, Blackbird Research Project, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario; George Cornwell, Virginia Polytechnic Insti¬tute, Blacksburg, Va.; Dick Warren, Peavey Grain Company, Minneapolis, Minn.; Bob Fringer, N.J. Department of Agriculture, Trenton, N.J.; Charles Stone, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbus, Ohio; Larry Holcomb, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster, Ohio; Doug Slack, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster, Ohio; Charles Wagg, N.J. Department of Agriculture, Trenton, N.J.; Dick Smith, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbus, Ohio; and Jim Caslick, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gainesville, Fla. As I see the situation, as a director of a red-winged blackbird research project, we have a problem which has been defined in human terms concerning a natural animal population.