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

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causes in 137J. , ni s csmoari son ltvoulc, <strong>of</strong> cours2, I ndicatz cna: ioss?j
to coyotes were decreasing ratcer thzn incressing. According to the
1980 survey, toral losses <strong>of</strong> stock sheep- to all causes consti tu-ced
10.22 percent <strong>of</strong> the January 1 i nven~ory with coyotes being responsibi e
for loss <strong>of</strong> 1.52 percent <strong>of</strong> the inventory or lJ.9 Fercent <strong>of</strong> total
losses. In cznpari scn, the 1971 survey as repor~ed by Ges, et a1 .
showed that total 1oss2s 07 scock shes? co all causes consti~uied
10.4 pe!*cent <strong>of</strong> the January 1 inventory and that coyotes were res~onsible
for the loss <strong>of</strong> 2.5 percenr <strong>of</strong> that i nventory or :pprcxiiii::el j 24
percent <strong>of</strong> total lossss. This asain would ind'cate losses 24 stock
sheep to cayoxss have declined 3s a perc5ncage <strong>of</strong> losszs co a71
causes.
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6 . 1esti;nony as predation losses incurred by ~roduczrs cr for~er
sheep pr~ducers in Colorado, Idaho, Ncntana 2nd Wycrning is ir. cne
record. The highes~ races <strong>of</strong> losses to predators, chiefly coyotzs,
6/ Although entitled "Lamb and Sheep Losses In The 17 Westgrn Staces ,"
the 1%0 USDA study referred ro apparently re1 ied on data collected from
only 13 western st3tes, the States <strong>of</strong> North Dakota and Kansas, which had
been included in the Gee, ex al. results f9r 1974, being omitted from the
1980 survey. A table ?repared by Defenders compares the 1974 Gee, at a1 ,
results wich the 1980 data aft2r subtracting inventory and loss figurgs
from these two states. Thi s subtraction, however, does not significantly
change the percentage losses caused by coyotes bear to losses to all causes
nor the percentage losses caussd by predators bear to losses to all causes.