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State biologists warned of wildlife conflicts at proposed shooting complex site. Wyoming approved the location anyway. (wyofile.com)

submitted 1 day ago by cm0002@lemmy.world to c/usa@midwest.social

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[–] FoxyFerengi@startrek.website 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Wyoming has similar demographics to Montana, so I'll just share this.

I was in a class with a guest lecturer talking about autonomous farm vehicles. One of these has sensors that can recognize a rabbit in its path and will stop until the rabbit moves on. One of my classmates said, "That's stupid! It's just a rabbit", and others agreed with him.

I've also seen my city open up hunting on beavers, because they flood the (city-owned) plains where ranchers let their livestock roam for free. Wildlife are just pests to these people, and being a wildlife biologist in these areas is very much a political task.

[–] raltoid@lemmy.world -2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Wildlife are just pests to these people,

Rabbits are literally, by definition, pests. Since they cause millions in damages to farms every year.

especially : a plant or animal detrimental to humans or human concerns (such as agriculture or livestock production)

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pest

If left unchecked, they breed into the thousands in a few years and eat the same amount as hundreds of sheep, deer, etc. they destroy their own local enviroment by killing plants. Reducing biodiversity, restricting food sources for other wild animals, etc.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 8 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

It's almost like they need more predators to keep the rabbit numbers in check. Oh wait, the ranchers are opposed to those as well.

[–] FoxyFerengi@startrek.website 5 points 21 hours ago

Exactly! I've lived in this area for six years and just saw my first swift fox last month. They nearly went extinct because farmers were killing them. These little foxes eat rabbits, mice, and insects like grasshoppers, so you'd think they would be good to have around

[–] FoxyFerengi@startrek.website 4 points 1 day ago

Rabbit was the example given. But the robot stops for any animals, including sage grouse, swift fox, and black footed ferrets which are endangered in this area due to loss of habitat.