Killing for Mutual Benefit

Bibliographic Data

ID8157442
AuthorsIker Saitua (0000-0002-8367-7070, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume99
Issue3
Pages405-442
Publication date2025-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAgricultural History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-1482 • E-ISSN: 1533-8290
PublisherDuke University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1215/00021482-11778200
OpenAlexW7083690777
LanguageEN
References cited27

This article examines predator management strategies in late nineteenth-century Montana, focusing on the establishment and implications of bounty systems aimed at controlling predator populations threatening the burgeoning sheep industry. During this period, Montana woolgrowers faced significant economic challenges from predators, primarily coyotes. In response, they developed cooperative bounty systems that incentivized predator extermination. While initially successful in reducing predator numbers, these systems led to unintended ecological consequences and economic practices, such as predator smuggling and breeding for bounty profits. This study explores the dynamics of these bounty systems, the economic rationales behind them, and their broader environmental impacts. It argues that while these efforts temporarily alleviated economic pressures on woolgrowers, they also led to significant ecological disruptions, highlighting the complex interplay between economic interests and environmental management in the American West

Ecological systems theory · Economic impact analysis · Predator · Unintended consequences · Historical and Archaeological Studies · Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology

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