Wildlife Services (WS) is an obscure federal agency under the US Department of Agriculture whose official mandate is “to provide Federal leadership and expertise to resolve wildlife conflicts to allow people and wildlife to coexist.” In practice, this involves killing wild animals with traps, snares, poison, gas, and guns; in the last decade WS has killed over 34 million animals. Generally this is done as a subsidized service to agriculture and the livestock industry, and occasionally involves federally listed endangered species. According to watchdog group Predator Defense, whistleblowers report that “Wildlife Services’ real kill numbers are significantly higher, just not reported.”

In 2015 WS reported destroying 3.2 million animals, including native predatory coyotes (68,905), bobcats (731), wolves (385) and mountain lions (284). Wildlife Services is the subject of Exposed: USDA’s Secret War on Wildlife, the “award-winning film that Jane Goodall wants millions to see,” and in 2016 agreed to update its analysis procedures in a federal court settlement with the group WildEarth Guardians.