-by DAROL DICKENSON | Darol Dickinson is the general manager of Dickinson Cattle Co. Inc. (DCCI) near Barnesville, Ohio.
Black Vultures are cunning, ruthless predators. They will locate a cow that is calving and peck the calf’s eyes out before it is completely born. As the cow is working to give birth, the Vultures take advantage of her inability to fight them. Not only do the Vultures know their skills, the USDA gives them diplomatic immunity to do their dastardly trade with a $5000 fine to anyone who kills one. Black Vultures unknowingly savor the full protection of the USDA.

In Gambier, Ohio, a major pork producer found parts of pigs killed and consumed in his farrowing barn. In a hidden barn location he was able, over a period of time, to shoot 20 Black Vultures. They were flying in a large door, pecking the pigs’ eyes out, and quickly either eating them or flying away with chunks of fresh ham. Although the farmer knew a $5000 fine by the USDA per Vulture was a devastating cost, the continued loss of a barn full of pigs was a larger loss.

Surviving USDA and state government predator protection regulations is getting heinous to all types of livestock producers. The Federales out West are releasing wolf packs on the ranchers. The wolves have killed every elk and deer fawn where released. Now they have developed a taste for calves – lots of calves. Colorado has serious protection for wolves and rattlesnakes. Don’t kill a rattler without a special government permit.

Move to our experience here in Ohio. Our government has a “reintroduction” program to take the country backward to a hundred years ago with many costly predators in full reproduction mode. Ohio is releasing river otters that clean out valuable stocked-fish in private lakes. Ohio has released bobcats, mountain lions, and they protect Black Vultures. Blue Herons, protected with a $5000 fine, work shallow waters, kill, destroy, and sometimes eat tons of small fish during their life.

After Ohio bobcats have cleaned out the wild turkey populations, now the government has a program to create wild turkey habitat. Unless the turkeys have habitat without bobcats, no habitat will help! Any tree a turkey can roost in, a bobcat can climb. Are they crazy, or do government wildlife officials just hate land owners?

Our government is aparently managed by staff who have no private livestock investments. They are totally void of normal animal compassion. Their thinking process coming out of government offices is less than imbecilic. Maybe back in their ancestry are werewolf genetics? Their regulations are designed to destroy food animals and to protect terrorist-predators which do the most costly damage to livestock owners.

This press release was released by the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. Just think – Linda Ragains, getting an appointment to become an “approved applicant” to “dispatch” five vultures. May take a month or two to process the application. How many calves would be lost by then? Congratulations to OFB for trying, but this branch of government isn’t going to do any livestock producer even a tiny favor, no way, no how.

 

Facebook post March 1, 2022 from Linda Ragains, Sallisaw, Oklahoma: Our registered cow, Rebels Dawn was starting to calve this morning when we put cubes out. Then when we put hay out later, we found her frantically fighting off four big black vultures. They must have attacked the minute it was born and still alive. Ears, eyes, nose gone, and limbs torn apart as the vultures ate, and fought over it.