19 wild cows killed in US aerial shooting operation

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service says a specialized team of wildlife managers has killed 19 wild cows in the Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico as part of a contested project to rid the area of the unauthorized animals. The three-day operation used a helicopter and high powered rifles to take out the cows. Ranchers had opposed the project, saying rounding up the animals and removing them would have been a more humane way to clear them out of the wilderness. A federal judge had denied the ranchers’ request to delay the project, saying the cows were indeed feral and the Forest Service had the authority to kill them.