written by Hugh Warwick, 2024
review by JoAnn Hackos

If you have heard of the proposal to kill Barred Owls to manage their threat to the Northern Spotted Owl, you have heard of Hugh Warwick’s theme in the Cull of the Wild. The spotted owls are declining, in part due to the expansion of the range of barred owls into spotted owl territory. To save spotted owls, it has been proposed to kill barred owls.

Warwick doesn’t deal with the owl problem but thoroughly investigates the culling of other species in response to the damage they have done.

He starts with Hedgehogs. The problem is New Zealand. English settlers added many European species to New Zealand, causing enormous problems for indigenous wildlife. The number of shorebirds declined drastically as their eggs were eaten, including Dunlins and Redshanks. The same infestation of hedgehogs occurred on the northern Orkney Island off Britain. Eventually a cull was started to protect native species from the invaders but not without protests from animal rights activists.

Consider cane toads, introduced to Australia to control cane beetles. The estimated 200 million cane toads threaten native wildlife. Anything that eats a cane toad is poisoned. Warwick’s message: “… the best way to stop a cane toad invasion is simply not to start one.”

Warwick visits islands like Orkney and Scully that have carefully planned and monitored programs to eliminate rats, handled by wildlife experts. But it takes constant diligence to keep the islands rat-free. They are easily imported on boats coming to land. They swim well enough that they can transport themselves from the boats.

Although Cull of the Wild is about attempts to rid areas of unwanted predators, Warwick is not enthusiastic about the culls. He clearly expresses that they need to be very carefully considered and undertaken with care. He argues repeatedly that the best solution is never to introduce the invasive species in the first place.

Consider, of course, the domestic cat. Audubon members are well aware that free-roaming cats create havoc with our bird populations. We try to convince people to keep their cats indoors. But we also know that many are convinced that their cats must be outdoors to be happy. Communities are often active in trying to control feral cats, although the neutering solution is not especially successful in stopping them from killings birds and hasn’t had much of an effect on the cat population. It’s best to keep them indoors if we want a thriving bird life around us.

Warwick’s book is surprisingly balanced and open and very interesting to read. He speaks to experts from both sides of the arguments and continues to ask if we humans have the right to cull invasive species, many of which we introduced. It’s a fascinating and well-reasoned study.