Federal Wildlife Officers Killed 28,000 Animals in 2025
Federal wildlife officials euthanized thousands of animals across California last year to address predation and safety.
Updated on Oct. 8, 2026 in Wildlife
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Should public wildlife management agencies prioritize nonlethal coexistence tools over lethal animal control?
Federal wildlife officers euthanized 28,000 animals across California during 2025. The program also dispersed approximately 1 million animals throughout the state.
Why it matters
The Wildlife Services program operates in response to specific requests concerning predation, crop damage, and safety concerns. These actions are intended to mitigate conflicts between humans and local wildlife populations.
Federal officials euthanized 6,903 squirrels, 3,285 coyotes, 1,743 feral swine, 18 black bears, and 14 mountain lions in California. The state also allocated $5 million for a Wildlife Coexistence Program.
The players
Wildlife Services
This federal program is a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that manages wildlife damage to protect agriculture and human safety.
The details
Federal officers utilized firearms, neck snares, and foothold traps to carry out euthanasia procedures. State wildlife managers additionally euthanized four wolves in Sierra County using drone technology at night to deter pack activity.
Timeline
October 2025: State wildlife managers euthanized four wolves in Sierra County.
2025: Federal wildlife officers euthanized 28,000 animals in California.
January 1, 2026: The Wildlife Coexistence Program was revived in California.
Culture Shift
This activity follows the trajectory of the Wildlife Services national animal management program which reported 2.8 million animal deaths annually. It reflects a shift toward integrating state-funded non-lethal alternatives with long-standing federal intervention protocols.
Residents and farmers may see changes in how wildlife conflicts are handled following the January 2026 revival of the Wildlife Coexistence Program. These programs aim to provide non-lethal options for managing interactions with local animals on private and public lands.
The takeaway
California is balancing federal lethal management protocols with a newly funded state program to test coexistence methods. Stakeholders are shifting toward monitoring whether $5 million in funding for non-lethal measures will impact the total number of animals euthanized in future years.
Further reading
Learn more about local ecological efforts in our Wildlife section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Active NorCal.
Live Poll
Should public wildlife management agencies prioritize nonlethal coexistence tools over lethal animal control?
