Best practices for nuisance wildlife control operators in New York State

Home | Wildlife control | NYS DEC | CCE | NYS IPM

Ch 2: Balancing the needs of people and wildlife

Learning objectives
Before you answer the review questions, you may wish to think about the learning objectives:

1. Name the six major questions that NWCOs should think about as they decide how to handle a job.
    
2. Define "humane."
    
3. Describe one ecological concern related to a NWCO activity.
    
4. Name one thing you can do to promote good public relations.

Review questions

1. Trap and transfer can be bad for local wildlife because
   1. it may overload a habitat, forcing all of the members of that species to struggle more to find food and shelter
   2. the public doesn't like this technique
   3. it can spread a wildlife disease into an area that wasn't affected
   4. answers "a" and "c" are both correct
   5. answers "a" and "b" are both correct
       
2. A best practice takes the following factors into account (check all that apply):
   ___ practical limitations
   ___ landowner rights
   ___ public beliefs about how wildlife should be treated
   ___ human safety
   ___ protection of the environment
   ___ public health
   ___ legal restrictions
   ___ "management by objective" theory
    
3. To ensure a humane death for a wild animal, you should
   1. kill it as quickly as possible, using a best practice for that species
   2. use anesthesia
   3. quickly make the animal unconscious, then kill it quickly
   4. all three answers are correct
   5. answers "a" and "c" are correct
       
4. Which questions help NWCOs choose the best ways to solve their customers' problems? (Check all that apply)
   ___ are these methods legal?
   ___ where's the coffee?
   ___ is this practical?
   ___ how will this affect the local wildlife population and the environment?
   ___ does this minimize the animal's suffering?
   ___ what's the public relations angle?
   ___ where's the aspirin?
    
5. For good public relations, you should
   1. figure out which method the public likes best, and then convince your customer to accept that solution
   2. spend a lot of money on advertising
   3. explain what you're doing, and why
   4. use best practices
   5. answers "c" and "d" are both correct

Answers:

1. d
    
2. all of the answers are correct except "management by objective theory"
    
3. e
    
4. all are correct, except for the requests for coffee and aspirin, which we leave to your discretion
    
5. 5.  e (The best practices approach to solving wildlife problems takes the customer's needs, and many other factors, into account. It's a customer-tailored solution, not a "one-size-fits-all" approach.)
    

Next Section (Chapter three: Legal issues)