Pest problems in agriculture are not new, but the black vulture brings along some nasty challenges. Vultures, often thought of as nature's cleanup crew, consume carrion. Turkey vultures, those red-headed carrion eaters do just that but their black-headed cousins the black vulture has something different on the menu – weak, live animals.

Recently Jennifer Kiel, American Agriculturist, offered a report on a pest that has spread from the Southwest to the Northeastern U.S. Her graphic descriptions of what these aggressive birds can do to a weakened animal may not be for the faint-hearted but paint a realistic picture of what livestock producers face.

There are options for controlling the birds and shooting them is not always the best choice (which also requires a permit). Kiel shares other tips for keeping these birds away from livestock and shares that if farmers are seeing these hungry birds near their livestock to take extra precautions.

It's a little different discussion for the podcast, but one that offers solid advice livestock producers can use to save animals

Give it a listen.

Related: Black vultures become threat to livestock

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