The National Wildlife Control Training Program

Authors

Stephen Vantassel, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Scott E. Hygnstrom, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Paul D. Curtis, Cornell UniversityFollow
Raj Smith, Cornell University

Date of this Version

2013

Citation

Proceedings of the 15th Wildlife Damage Management Conference. (J. B. Armstrong, G. R. Gallagher, Eds). 2013. Pp. 113-116.

Abstract

Although state wildlife agencies allow private individuals to perform wildlife control ser-vices, only 14 have meaningful and appropriate training requirements for licensing wildlife control opera-tors (WCOs). We developed a training program called the National Wildlife Control Training Program (NWCTP) to cover the fundamental skills and knowledge required by WCOs. This article explains the development of the NWCTP, its content, and the opportunity it provides for states and federal agencies, private companies, and individuals to train WCOs.