The USDA’s Wildlife Services program—established more than 80 years ago with the passage of the Animal Damage Control Act of 1931—wastes millions of taxpayer dollars recklessly killing animals with steel-jawed leghold traps, toxic poisons, aerial gunning, and other hideous lethal methods every year. Several former USDA-Wildlife Services employees and whistleblowers have described the agency’s deeply rooted culture of disregard for animals, and for these reasons, have long suspected that some federal trappers may be committing crimes against animals while performing work-related duties.
