BLACK VULTURES PLAGUE CATTLE INDUSTRY
Cattle producers across the nation continue to face major depredation from black vultures, without the ability to protect their herds year-round, especially during calving season. Currently, black vultures are a federally protected species under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act( MBTA). This means producers face burdensome restrictions in securing permits for lethal take( capture, kill, disperse, or transport), and the rules to manage those permits have not kept up with the species’ skyrocketing population.
Black vulture depredation rates have increased across the Southeast and Midwest in recent years, surpassing 30 % in some states. If black vultures are found on an operation, chances are there are too many to have the current three lethal take permits allowed under the MBTA make any difference. Increased black vulture populations combined with drought and other factors are leading these birds of prey to increasingly target newborn calves for food.
“ We lose calves every year. We need reasonable actions available to defend them,” notes National Cattlemen’ s Beef Association( NCBA) member Will Mayfield, a producer from Tennessee. Some states, like Tennessee, have taken steps to help farmers deal with the aggressive predator. Tennessee has prohibited the use of state funds to enforce the prohibition of lethal take to protect livestock. While the bird remains federally protected, these actions encourage change at the national level.
Last year, NCBA secured the introduction of the Black Vulture Relief Act in both the House and the Senate and has been working through the committee process to get floor votes for this bicameral and bipartisan legislation. The Act looks to streamline the permitting system and lift the cap on the number of black vultures that producers can take. The legislation focuses on taking a commonsense approach to managing a fully recovered, aggressive predator species. The Act moved through the House Committee on Natural Resources in July 2025 and awaits a full vote, while the Senate version remains with the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
NCBA President and Virginia cattleman Gene Copenhaver highlighted the importance of the action stating,“ We are at the lowest cattle inventory numbers since the 1950s. As cattle producers, we cannot afford to risk newborn calves from predators, like black vultures, if we are going to continue rebuilding the herd. Cattle producers across much of the nation are facing the financial and emotional strain of livestock depredations due to overabundant black vultures. Populations have skyrocketed in recent years. The current take permit numbers are just not enough to properly manage the population while also protecting newborn calves that make easy targets for these predators.”
NCBA is committed to getting this critical legislation across the finish line. After 50 years of federal protection, black vultures are now 190 million strong and are an abundant species across the country. These birds are not endangered and are not in any jeopardy of going extinct.
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10 NOVEMBER 2026 www. NCBA. org