By

Austen Shipley

Alabama livestock producers begin hunting black vultures

July 4, 2023

Livestock producers throughout the country, including those in Alabama, are encountering a problem that has begun to effect their businesses’ total income.

Black vultures have increasingly become predators of newly born calves throughout the state.

In order to address the issue, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has given a permit to the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries which will allow livestock producers in the Yellowhammer State to kill up to 500 of the birds this year.

Each producer can kill up to three and must use a shotgun.

“Black vultures have been giving cattlemen problems for quite some time, particularly in north Alabama,” Erin Beasley, executive vice president of the Alabama Cattleman’s Association, told AL.com. “However, they are migrating further south. There are a lot of them because they are protected under…