Notice of Hearing on the Application to Use Sodium Fluoroacetate ...

and :hat th2 Survey was csndbct?d 6fZ2r d-,? ban gn Ccnzound 1280
the survey was concycr?d in 1975, ;rd i~iiiary daza icir hdt 16 percent <strong>of</strong> high loss ranchers reportsd i ncrcassd
predation lcss~s for that year, 62 percent reported lower ?redation
losses and 22 percent reportsd no cnange in losses for that par.
From this it might be concluded that :oss?s wer? decrpas'ng i,,rom
1974 to 1975.
22. The study "The 2concnics <strong>of</strong> Shesp Prodacion in Scuchwes~srn ]:an"
atx2mp~2d to veri fy predation 1 ~ S S ~ on S can ranches havi ng rsnge
flocks in sau;hweste?n Utzh durlncj zhe period 1972-75. ihji sxdy
indica~sd that tne predation loss rate <strong>of</strong> lambs in 1375 was lass chan
half <strong>of</strong> that prevailing in 1972. !-as: or missing animals 1,4hos2
carcasses were never locatzd w2re appar~ntly attributed :a 7reda:crs
and other causes in fhe same propor~ion as verified 1ossss. Though
he did not dispute the figures reported, Dr. Plielsen questioned
whether the area could be considered representative <strong>of</strong> the Stace <strong>of</strong>
Utah or <strong>of</strong> the 17 western states.
23. Statistical data frcm USCA and Utah indicatz that combined sheep and
docked lamb losses to a71 causes for the years 1931 to and including
1980 have fluctuated in a relatively narrow range, varying from a
low <strong>of</strong> 8.2 percent in 1966 to a high <strong>of</strong> 13.75 percent in 1975,
decreasing to 8.6 percent in 1979 and 9 percent in 1380.