Frustrated California ranchers, fed up with wolves attacking their livestock, are pushing for the right to use pepper balls against these predators. This comes as Republican legislators argue that the state’s laws concerning protected species are overly stringent.
Representative Heather Hadwick (R-Alturas) joined forces with law enforcement and ranchers at the Capitol, backing a set of bills aimed at permitting livestock producers and others licensed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to employ pepper-ball projectiles to dissuade gray wolves and other animals threatening livestock and human safety.
“Its purpose is to deter, not to cause harm like crowd control tear gas,” Hadwick explained. She described the pepper balls as more comparable to bear spray—annoying and somewhat painful, but less lethal.
According to Hadwick, the use of pepper balls would provide ranchers and wildlife officials a new method to safeguard livestock, lessen wolf conflicts, and keep wolves from becoming too reliant on livestock as food, which might lead to lethal measures being necessitated.
James Gallagher, a former Republican congressman from Yuba City and co-author of previous bills addressing this issue, voiced concerns about the impact of wolf attacks on Northern California ranchers. “For many, this is just awful,” he remarked. “In many instances, killing a cow may be the most humane option, given the severe injuries these animals suffer.”
Gallagher criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for overlooking these issues, asserting that rural citizens are bearing the brunt of the problem. “He seems more focused on his presidential ambitions,” he said, “ignoring essential matters like housing, homelessness, and issues directly affecting rural areas, including the wolf situation.”
The gray wolf is protected under both state and federal endangered species laws. They vanished from California around a century ago but made a return in 2011 through natural migration from Oregon.
As it stands, AB 1673 would enable authorized individuals to use tear gas projectiles on wolves, a much more aggressive strategy than what one researcher previously attempted by playing AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” to scare them off.
Senator Shannon Grove, a Central Valley Republican collaborating with Hadwick on another bill, AB1722, highlighted that ranchers in the Sierra Valley and elsewhere in the northern state feel helpless as wolves prey on their calves. She argued that urban areas like Los Angeles and San Francisco don’t experience these issues, which allows animal rights activists to frame the situation from a misleading angle.
“They claim to care about animals, but they disregard the suffering of calves,” Grove stated, expressing her frustration with how the issue is contextualized by some.
AB 1722 aims to shield Californians from civil, administrative, or criminal repercussions under the California Endangered Species Act. Ranchers would gain the right to utilize reasonable force to defend themselves and others from imminent threats posed by endangered species.
Gallagher insisted that ranchers are not seeking to eliminate wolves entirely but rather to address the specific problem of those that have learned to attack cattle. “We’re not trying to eradicate all wolves,” he asserted. “We’re focusing on the issue of wolves that have started to kill cows.”
The proposed legislation follows an announcement from the Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the fatal removal of four gray wolves from the Bayemseyo herd, citing an unprecedented series of livestock attacks. Between late March and mid-September, there were 70 confirmed livestock losses due to wolves, constituting 63% of all such fatalities in the state during that timeframe.
State officials noted that wolves have grown accustomed to the presence of cattle, despite extensive use of non-lethal deterrents such as drones and baiting, and continued field monitoring.
“Wolves consume calves, growing quite hefty as a result,” Grove remarked. “Let’s implement measures like pepper spray to protect both livestock and human lives.”
