Government Programs for Ranchers
The Livestock Protection Program (LPP) helps prevent and mitigate impacts from wild predators to cattle and sheep. It also provides verification services for suspected harassment, injury, or death caused by birds (ravens or eagles) wolves or coyotes, bears and cougars and initiates compensation claims on behalf of the impacted producer.
The program’s goals are:
The program aims to inspect and verify predator kills within 36 hours of discovery and to implement mitigation measures within 24-48 hours of positive verification of predation by wolves or coyotes.
In order to be eligible for mitigation under this program, livestock producers must demonstrate that they are adopting best management practices (BMPs) to prevent livestock-predator conflicts. To promote BMPs, the Livestock Protection Program Coordinator will assist in disseminating information to livestock producers whenever possible and through various outreach opportunities.
Following are some additional resources:
If a producer discovers a predator attack, injury or evidence of harassment, they should call the toll free livestock protection hotline at 1-844-852-5788 to start a claim. Known bear or cougar conflicts should be reported immediately to the BC Conservation Officer Services RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277
Although a program verifier will be dispatched, producers should also take photos of the evidence and, in the event of death, preserve the carcass for inspection.
There are two possible methods for verifying predation:
Livestock producers who have completed the Verification Training Course offered by the BC Conservation Officer Service can conduct their own verification inspection.
Simply complete the LPP Verification & Compensation Application Form (fillable PDF) then email it to the LPP coordinator for review. For confirmed predator events, a $150 fee will be issued by the program after the form has been received.
For livestock owners who cannot self-verify, the LPP coordinator will send a wildlife specialist or an experienced certified verifier to the site to conduct an inspection.
The LPP coordinator will review all verification forms and forward the application forms accompanied by photographic evidence and recommendations to the BC Ministry of Agriculture for claim and payment processing. Compensation will be provided based on age and classification the of animals involved and previous year's market value.
All Verification and Compensation Applications are also forwarded to the BC COS for review.
The LPP coordinator will also review the BMPs used by the producer before deciding whether additional prevention measures must be taken. If they are not satisfied that sufficient BMPs were implemented, claims for verification, mitigation and compensation may be denied.
Upon confirmation of a wolf or coyote conflict, and if satisfied that BMPs are in place, the LPP coordinator will dispatch a wildlife specialist to initiate mitigation activities. Mitigation activities are conducted under the authority of a permit issued by the Province.
Only wildlife specialists who are registered with the program will be dispatched and compensated for mitigation services and the specialist will submit a report to the coordinator detailing what mitigation activities were completed.
The LPP Coordinator will follow up with the producer to review mitigation activities and discuss any further recommendations.
24-hour hotline 1‐844‐852‐5788 LPP coordinator Cam Hill