North America
According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, 224,200 sheep were killed in the U.S. by predators in 2004, comprising approximately 37% of all ovine deaths for that year. The sheep lost in that year represented a sum total of 18.3 million dollars for sheep producers. Coyotes were responsible for 60.5% of all deaths, with the next largest being domestic dogs at 13.3%. Other North American predators of sheep included cougars (5.7%), bobcats (4.9%), eagles (2.8%), bears (3.8%), and foxes (1.9%). Wolves, ravens, vultures, and other animals together made up the remaining 7.1% of deaths. As all NASS statistics on sheep only take into account sheep after docking, the American Sheep Industry Association estimates that an additional 50-60,000 lambs were killed (before docking) that were not a part of the count. The number of sheep lost to predators may also be higher when considering that reports are generally only made when there is a reasonable expectation that a producer will be financially reimbursed for the loss.
Read more about this topic: Domestic Sheep Predation
Famous quotes related to north america:
“I do not speak with any fondness but the language of coolest history, when I say that Boston commands attention as the town which was appointed in the destiny of nations to lead the civilization of North America.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)