Black vulture

Ranchers across the Midwest are battling black vultures, a federally protected bird that has a reputation for killing newborn livestock. While the birds play a major ecological role, their expanding population is becoming a big nuisance for producers.

Black vultures are a nuisance for Missouri livestock producers. The federally protected birds are preying on newborn livestock. The problem has increased as the black vulture population grew to roughly 21,000 in 2021.