The United States Department of Agriculture has a program called Wildlife Services. Its job is to help protect agricultural and other resources. Often that means helping farmers deal with unwelcome visitors. This organization has experts from different fields and it has set up thousands of inquiry centers all over the country where farmer can explain their difficulty and get practical help.
One example from Wildlife Services of its work involved a farmer in Washington State in the Pacific Northwest. Several years ago, thousands of Canada geese landed on his fields. The geese began to eat his carrot crop. Biologists from the program suggested that the farmer use noise-making devices and other measures to scare the large birds away. These efforts succeeded, which made the farmer quite happy. Wildlife Services also has a livestock protection program. The program just offers suggestions to keep those unwelcome visitors away instead of killing them. The Wildlife Services program is part of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS. APHIS offers some suggestions of ways to keep away predators. For example, try to keep food and water safe from wildlife. Fences may help keep out wolves, especially if the fences are at least two meters high.
Experts suggest providing secure shelter for chickens, sheep and other animals that could be attacked. They also suggest using lights above places where these animals are kept. And they advise people who see wolves to chase them away by shouting, making loud noises or throwing rocks. And to protect livestock, consider using guard animals such as dogs and donkeys, which are very effective.
For home gardeners a two-meter fence might help keep out deer. To keep out rabbits, a wire fence has to be only about a half-meter high. It should extend fifteen centimeters underground to keep rabbits from digging under it. If snakes are a problem, remove dead trees and cut high grass to destroy their hiding places. Due to its effective work, ever since the Wildlife Services was started, it has been well received by farmers all over the States and neighboring countries such as Canada and Mexico.
