Chemical repellents and other aversive strategies are the core of non-lethal wildlife management.

These strategies typically depend on irritation (pain), conditioning, or fear for their effectiveness,

and none is universally successful. Thus, conditioned food aversions deter browsing and foraging

killing, not consumption, is the behavior of interest. Broadly speaking, the utility of non-lethal

strategies is affected by number and density of wildlife species, availability of alternative foods,

palatability and novelty of treated items, and intensity of pain, sickness, or fear used to establish

avoidance. Some of the most promising areas for successful predation management are those

involving a combination of strategies tailored to a specific problem. For example, behavioral-contingent

auditory and visual stimuli coupled with presentations of electric shock or momentary

vibration (via telemetry collars) could provide an effective and unambiguous cue for withdrawal.

Non-lethal methods, however, are rarely stand-alone technologies. More often, integrated strategies,

involving both lethal and non-lethal methods, are required for effective predation management.