00:00I recognize myself and I support Mr. Rose's bipartisan legislation, which provides much-needed relief to farmers and ranchers who are negatively impacted by black vultures.
00:11The bill makes necessary changes to allow farmers and ranchers to take black vultures that are causing harm to livestock when immediate action is needed.
00:20This stands in stark contrast to the current permitting structure, which imposes an artificial ceiling on how many birds a permittee can take each year.
00:28The bill also requires farmers and ranchers to report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a yearly basis the number of black vultures they take.
00:37Today, depending on the state, a permit holder can take up to 10 black vultures in one year.
00:43During our hearing on this bill, during the last Congress, the committee heard from Mr. Charlie Bescher, a rancher from southeastern Missouri,
00:51and at the time, the chair of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's Committee on Property Rights and Environmental Management.
00:57He explained that black vultures in Missouri often descend in flocks of 40 to 50 birds at a time.
01:04Simple math tells you that a cap of 10 vultures per year does little to deter depredation.
01:10While black vultures were once an imperiled species, today they are thriving with a population of approximately 190 million worldwide.
01:19Mr. Huffman, that's more, way more than the state of population of the state of Arkansas, and even more than your big state of California and Arkansas combined.
01:31This growing population is impacting American farmers and ranchers.
01:35In 2024 alone, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Service disbursed almost 100,000 black vultures and euthanized over 13,000 across 22 states.
01:47While the spread of black vulture attacks varies by state, as much as 33% of livestock producers experience calf loss from black vultures.
01:57Black vulture depredations on livestock are gruesome and traumatizing for farmers and ranchers.
02:02According to research conducted by the University of Nebraska, it takes an average of three and a half hours from the start of a black vulture attack to the death of a calf,
02:12primarily attacking and feeding on calves when they are first born and their mothers are unable to protect them.
02:18This legislation gives livestock producers the tools they need to protect their livestock and their livelihoods from black vulture attacks.
02:25I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back.
Comments