DENVER—Farmers and ranchers say predators like coyotes are a huge problem, despite a federal report that says the number of cattle killed by the animals is minimal.
A new report on cattle deaths released by the National Agricultural Statistics Service said 5.5 percent of all cattle and calf losses nationwide are due to predators.
Officials at the National Cattlemen Association say the cattle losses, even if they seem small, usually represent the profits they would have made that year.
The report says the losses cost ranchers more than $98 million.
Environmentalists say the top five killers of cattle are health problems like respiratory diseases or complications while calving. They say less than 1 percent of the nation’s cattle were lost to carnivores.
