The United States Forest service issued a kill order for feral cows in the state of New Mexico on Thursday citing a threat to public safety and natural resources.

Aerial shooters will be roaming the New Mexican wilderness of the Gila National Forest via helicopter in search of cows to slay beginning Feb. 23, after a kill order from the U.S. Forest Service, a press release stated.

Calling the decision “difficult,” Gila National Forest Supervisor Camille Howes announced that the lethal action was a necessary measure to “protect public safety, threatened and endangered species habitats, water quality, and the natural character of the Gila Wilderness.” (RELATED: Choppers, AR 15s And Explosives: Combating Feral Hogs Texas Style)

“The feral cattle in the Gila Wilderness have been aggressive towards wilderness visitors, graze year-round, and trample stream banks and springs, causing erosion and sedimentation. This action will help restore the wilderness character of the Gila Wilderness enjoyed by visitors from across the country,” Howes said, according to the release.

Gila National Forest’s problem with feral cows began in the mid-1970s when a local rancher declared bankruptcy and left his cattle to roam in the wilderness, the U.S. Forest Service explained in November 2022.  Since that time, 756 cattle have been removed by the Forest Service using both lethal and non-lethal means. The Gila National Forest, in coordination with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services, estimates a total of 150 cattle will be affected by this kill order, the Forest Service stated.

U.S. officials in New Mexico plan to shoot feral cattle from helicopters to protect sensitive wilderness from the animals’ hooves and mouths. Ranchers decry the effort as animal cruelty. https://t.co/H8ycxSzV2l

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 17, 2023

For years, environmentalists have expressed concerns and filed lawsuits regarding free-roaming cattle, arguing the animals “ruin the land and water by trampling stream banks,” according to the Associated Press. For them, this kill order is a welcome solution to a long-standing problem.

“We can expect immediate results — clean water, a healthy river and restored wildlife habitat,” Todd Schulke, co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, told the AP.

Schulke’s organization has argued that if the cattle aren’t removed, water quality in the area will worsen, posing a risk to the endangered Mexican gray wolf as well as other wildlife such as deer, elk and mountain lions, the outlet stated.

While environmentalists applaud the decision, others are accusing the Forest Service of ignoring its own regulations, which call for an attempted roundup first and for lethal means to be used only as a last resort.

“Easy is not an exception to their own rules. Frustration is not an exception to the rules. Our society should be better than this. We can be more creative and do it a better way where you’re not wasting an economic resource,” Tom Paterson, chair of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association, told AP.

Paterson told the outlet his organization has worked to find a non-lethal solution to the problem including a recent directive from the New Mexico Livestock Board that would allow neighboring ranchers to remove the cattle.

Aerial shooting will begin Thursday, Feb. 23 and last through Sunday, Feb. 26, though closure for the area will begin on Feb. 20 in preparation for the deadly roundup. All cattle killed will be left to decompose naturally in the wilderness as long as their carcasses are not adjacent to any water source, hiking trail or known culturally sensitive areas, the Forest Service stated.