" But the U.S. Forest Service’s description of its chopper hunt taking place between Thursday and Sunday is questioned by some cattle growers, such as the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, Humane Farming Association, and Spur Lake Cattle Company.

After an application for a temporary restraining order to prevent what R-CALF USA calls an “aerial slaughter” was denied by a federal judge, its Property Rights Committee Chair Shad Sullivan says the federal government’s characterization of the situation doesn’t tell the full story.

According to Sullivan, the “cattle in question are descendants of herds that legally grazed on rancher-owned allotments decades ago,” and “estrays may have intermingled with adjacent allotment owners branded and tagged cattle, proving they are domestic livestock,” contrary to the Forest Service’s claim the cattle are “feral.” Sullivan also noted that a fire last year “destroyed over 30 miles of fencing near the aerial gunning operation area.”

In Sullivan’s view, “not only is the gunning down of the animals inhumane and cruel, but an environmental issue as well.” He added that the results of last year’s chopper hunt “were in some cases considered grotesque, as some cattle were shot but were not killed,” “calves were left motherless, and mature cattle received injuries that prolonged suffering, leading to an inevitable death and leaving carcasses strewn about the land and in waterways.”

Beyond the cruelty Sullivan accused the U.S. Forest Service of employing, he said a larger issue “may be the unchecked power by unelected bureaucrats within governmental agencies setting a precedent for how federal officials handle authority” and the fact that area cattle ranchers are “contending that the USFS isn’t abiding by its own regulations.”

Sullivan further cited “pressure from environmental groups” as weighing on the Forest Service’s decision to use helicopter hunters to put down the cattle."