Part of the US Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services slaughtered 1.75 million animals last year. Crunching the numbers, that turns out to be 200 animals every hour, for all of 2021.
The government division culls the animals to protect agriculture, threatened species, and humans.
European Starlings, feral swine, and a type of invasive fish are the top three most killed animals. In addition to invasive species, they also slaughtered bears, foxes, wolves, and mountain lions.
Turning this into a story, what if a young girl realizes she can communicate with a cub bear that gets killed by Wildlife Services? Not only that, she can still talk to the bear after it dies.
Because of their link, she can communicate with all the spirits of the slaughtered animals, and she goes on a quest to save the ones still alive.
Initially, her immediate family helps her keep the animals away from Wildlife Services, then her community becomes involved after their initial success. Because of her work, both humans and animals live in an Eden-type utopia in a small town. The animals don't pose any threat, and Wildlife Services can't get into the town once the mayor gets involved.
Eventually, the local head of Wildlife Services arrives, promising swift changes. However, the young girl still goes out with her father looking for animals they can save, guided by the spirits.
The head of Wildlife Services realizes the girl is causing him problems and kidnaps her. Unfortunately, because she isn't there providing the link between humans and animals, everything within the town goes wrong, and the animals run into the waiting agents.
At the last moment, the girl's spirit animal helps her break out of the jail, and she leads the animals on a stampede.
The story ends with the head of Wildlife Services behind bars and the other agents dedicated to working with the animals so that they can create a world that works for everyone.
