Kill Order for New Mexico Feral Cows Issued by US Officials

A feral bull along the Gila River in the Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico on July 25, 2020. ©Robin Silver/Center for Biological Diversity via AP

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—A helicopter with a shooter will fly over a portion of the vast Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico this week, searching for feral cows to kill.

U.S. Forest Service managers approved the plan on Feb. 16 to protect sensitive spots in the nation’s first designated wilderness area. The move sets the stage for legal challenges over how to handle unbranded livestock and other stray cows as drought deepens in the West.