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USDA Wildlife Services killed 2.7 million animals in 2014

By Andrew V. Pestano

WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services killed or euthanized about 2.7 million animals from 319 species during the 2014 fiscal year.

The program is designed to kill animals deemed a threat to agriculture, the public or the environment. Of the total killed, about 1.4 million were invasive species. Nearly 80,000 dens and burrows were removed or destroyed and nearly 27,000 animals were freed, released or relocated.

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Examples of animals killed or euthanized by wildlife services in 2014:

Arctic foxes, 127. Black vultures, 3,751. California ground squirrels, 7,262. Raccoons, 11,261. Brown tree snakes, 21,546. Feral swine, 30,248. Brown-headed cowbirds, 542,231. European starlings, 1.1 million (invasive, 43 percent of all animals killed).

There were 454 river otter deaths, but only 64 were intentional. Animals could be unintentionally killed by being caught in traps designed for other creatures.

There were 601 monkeys, patas and rhesus, intentionally killed. Both are considered invasive species.

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