Little Blue Society

Human-Animal Conflict Resolution

   

 

 

VEXING™ (Hazing)

VEXING™ (ISI), was created and developed by Mary A. Paglieri to permanently modify the undesired behavior of wildlife.  It was first presented at the San Mateo County, CA Coyote Forum in 1999.  The Forum was  attended by renowned wildlife scientists, and national animal welfare organizations.  The technique was developed to specifically modify the behavior of coyotes, and later expanded to modify the behavior of all wildlife to deal with anthropogenic conditioning.

Historically, the  management tactics used to deal with "so-called," nuisance wildlife or wildlife perceived as a threat to human safety in urban, and rural landscapes has typically been invasive, and have often included the destruction of the animals.  But indiscriminate lethal control has shown to disrupt natural ecological processes, and destroy natural habitats with far-reaching, detrimental consequences. 

An off-shoot of VEXING™ (ISI), called "hazing," has been adopted by many agencies, and is being promoted as a 'cure-all,' especially in working with coyotes. Hazing is a simple scare tactic that the animal will eventually habituate to.

VEXING™ is a 2-step methodolgy that tailors the use of operant conditioning to permanently change the persistent behavior of human-food conditioned wildlife.

Little Blue Society uses VEXING™ (ISI), an Integrated Stepwise Intervention, to permanently modify the behavior of wildlife. 

Direct behavioral correction applied to wildlife and habitat modification (Intervention), and observation is applied in ascending Steps. Observation after each Stepwise Intervention dictates what corrective measures are further needed. With each ascending Step, the Intervention increases in intensity, until the desired behavior in wildlife is achieved.

Through our many years of experience and perfecting our VEXING™ (ISI) methodlogy, we have found that most aberrant behavior in (healthy) wildlife caused by anthropogenic conditioning can be corrected, with exception to those animals that are infirm and/or otherwise compromised by sickness and lose their ability to forage.  At which  point, after observation, it would be our recommendation to humanely euthanize that animal, or if appropriate, to transfer it to a sanctuary after rehabillition.

At every Step of the Intervention, the “loop” is closed, before moving up to the next Step.  Closing the loop means addressing all “hotspots” that are identified at each Step and making all the necessary/required changes to the environment in those areas.

VEXING™ (ISI), is not simply about applying direct correction to modify wildlife behavior.  It is about making the necessary changes to the environment in order to address the true underlying causes for wildlife to “misbehave.”

The Integration of other agencies and organizations to work together as a team to provide support and education to the public is a crucial part of the VEXING™ (ISI) program.

Please contact us for more information, and to recieve the VEXING technical manual, or to set up a training class on using VEXING™ (ISI)