The House Appropriations Committee marked up and passed language out of committee today that would secure critical funding for reducing human-wildlife conflicts in the fiscal year 2021 appropriations package. The agriculture appropriations bill included $1.38 million for Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services to maintain newly hired employees dedicated exclusively to promoting and implementing nonlethal livestock-predator conflict deterrence techniques in up to 12 states. The committee appropriated this funding for the first time in 2020.
Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, issued the following statement:
“We thank the House Appropriations Committee for its leadership in supporting expanded investment in activities to help solve human-wildlife conflicts. This funding is a bipartisan victory for coexistence efforts and will greatly benefit wildlife, livestock and rural communities in states across the country.”
Defenders of Wildlife is celebrating 75 years of protecting all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With a nationwide network of nearly 2.2 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit defenders.org/newsroom and follow us on Twitter @Defenders.
