CALIFORNIA CATTLEMAN WEEKLY

May 5, 2025

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CALL TO ACTION: Oppose Fish & Game Commission Limiting Take of Coyotes
On May 15, the Wildlife Resources Committee of the California Fish and Game Commission will meet in Sacramento to discuss and recommend “changes to regulations regarding the take of coyotes.” While full details of any forthcoming regulatory amendment are not yet known, what is known from a Jan. 15 hearing of the Committee is that Committee Co-Chair (and Commission President) Erika Zavaleta is proposing to remove coyotes from the class of nongame mammals which “may be taken at any time of the year and in any number” under existing regulation, severely limiting individuals’ ability to proactively manage the predators.

CCA is asking members to get involved to oppose any regulation which would restrict your ability to proactively manage coyotes threatening your livestock by taking them in any number and at any time. 

• There are several options for ranchers to participate in the May 15 hearing:
  • Participate in-person at the Natural Resources Headquarters Building at 715 P Street in Sacramento;
  • Participate online using the Commission’s instructions for joining the meeting via the Zoom platform; or
  • Call in by dialing (877) 336-1831 and using the conference code 481000.

• Written comments opposing the regulation can be submitted to the Committee via [email protected]. Written comments received by Monday, May 12 at Noon will be provided to Commissioners during the hearing.

CCA submitted detailed comments opposing the regulatory proposal ahead of last Friday’s initial comment deadline, and CCA staff will be on-hand at the May 15 meeting to oppose the regulatory change. But it will be essential for Commissioners to hear directly from ranchers who would be impacted by limits on coyote take.

For more information, listen to last week’s Sorting Pen podcast, and for additional background, see the Feb. 18 edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

CCA-Sponsored Bills Survive House-of-Origin Policy Committees
Both of CCA’s sponsored bills advanced out of Assembly policy committees ahead of last Friday’s deadline for those committees to act on any bills with fiscal impacts. CCA-sponsored AB 411 (Papan), which would legalize on-ranch composting of routine livestock mortalities, unanimously passed the Assembly’s Agriculture and Natural Resources committees. The bill will be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee this Wednesday. CCA’s other sponsored bill, AB 525 (Lackey) – which would extend the current agricultural vehicle exemption from the California Highway Patrol’s Basic Inspection of Terminals Program – was unanimously approved by the Assembly Transportation Committee last Monday, and will also next go before the Assembly Appropriations Committee. For more information, see last week’s edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

Feds Propose Rescinding Definition of “Harm” Under Endangered Species Act
Earlier this month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration jointly issued a proposed rule which would rescind the regulatory definition of “harm” under the federal Endangered Species Act. The agencies have now determined that “The existing regulatory definition of ‘harm,’ which includes habitat modification, runs contrary to the best meaning of the statutory term ‘take.’” The proposed rule “would be prospective only” and would not affect actions previously taken under the existing regulatory definition of “harm.”  The agencies will accept public comment on the proposed rule through May 19. For additional information, see the April 21 edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

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CCA in the News

US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef celebrates 10 years National Provisioner “The newly elected officers, each serving one-year terms, include Labbe, who works for The Nature Conservancy, Chair-elect Tom McDonald from the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Secretary and Treasurer Scott Anderson from CRI Feeders, and Immediate Past Chair Mike Williams from the California Cattlemen’s Association.” To continue reading, click here.

Industry News

This California student could go to prison for taking four chickens. Was it a crime or a ‘rescue’? The San Francisco Chronicle “Many experts agree that, if DxE wins more trials and open rescues eventually become widespread, they might disrupt the factory-farm system enough to spike meat prices. That could trigger an uproar from consumers, who might pressure agricultural officials into shifting toward smaller, more environmentally friendly animal farms.

All this would serve DxE’s ultimate plan of ending the sale of meat to the public. With the group now at what some call a “flashpoint” moment, Rosenberg surely feels the urgency. Studies suggest that American meat consumption continues to rise, and that plant-based alternatives remain niche, which might explain DxE’s stagnant membership in recent years. ” To continue reading, click here.

The hidden costs of wolf conservation High Country News “Every summer, rancher Richard Egan grazes about 400 cattle on private and Forest Service land in northeastern California. Since 2017, the rolling grasslands and pine forest have also been home to the Lassen Pack, which has produced nine litters of pups. In 2023, the state paid Egan $5,550 to compensate him for the loss of a cow and calf to the wolves, but he says there are other, less tangible costs of operating in their territory: The stress of living with predators, for example, can cause cows to put on less weight or give birth to fewer calves.” To continue reading, click here.