The Gila National Forest has completed recent aerial operations to remove feral cattle within the boundaries of the Gila Wilderness using lethal methods. A total of 19 head were killed by a specialized USDA Animal.
The Gila National Forest has completed recent aerial operations to remove feral cattle within the boundaries of the Gila Wilderness using lethal methods.
The U.S. Forest Service says a specialized team of wildlife managers has killed 19 wild cows in the Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico as part of a contested project to rid the area of the unauthorized animals. The three-day operation used a helicopter and high powered rifles to take out the cows. Ranchers had opposed the project, saying rounding up the animals and removing them would have been a more humane way to clear them out of the wilderness. A federal judge had denied the ranchers' request to delay the project, saying the cows were indeed feral and the Forest Service had the authority to kill them.