Economic Analysis of Indemnity Payments for Wolf Depredation on Cattle in a Wolf Reintroduction Area

Authors

• Aaron M. Anderson, USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research CenterFollow
• Karen Gebhardt, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, ColoradoFollow
• Katy N. Kirkpatrick, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado
• David L. Bergman, USDAWildlife Services, Phoenix, ArizonaFollow
• Stephanie A. Shwiff, USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research CenterFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2014

Citation

Published at Univ. of Calif., Davis. 2014. Pp. 413-418.

Comments

U.S. Government Work

Abstract

Mexican gray wolves were reintroduced into New Mexico and Arizona in 1998. When wolves kill a producing cow, ranchers in the region are eligible to receive an indemnity payment equal to the market value of the lost animal. We developed a model that allows estimation of the present value of the revenue stream that a cow or herd provides and find that if a producing cow is killed, the decrease in the present value of the rancher’s revenue stream is about $1,230. Mean indemnity payments are currently $1,000, implying ranchers are not being sufficiently compensated.