1Select from a large quantity; obtain from a variety of sources.

1. 1.1 Reduce the population of (a wild animal) by selective slaughter.
   he sees culling deer as a necessity

   Example sentencesExamples

   • We must stop herding and culling herds of human cattle, as policy.
   • Hunters selectively cull the does to make more forage available for the bucks.
   • Closed seasons themselves will not actually prevent a population decline unless culling levels are quite low even during the open season.
   • As medical science conquers diseases that used to cull the population, so more people are succumbing to one or another form of cancer.
   • Other wildlife veterinarians disagree, however, arguing that untreated disease and inbreeding have culled the reindeer population.
   • Calls have been made to cull the geese, who have grown rapidly in population in the last few years on Bedford's Embankment.
   • The consequent delay in warning the public and taking measures such as culling chicken populations has probably been a factor in enabling the disease to spread.
   • The hunt, which they help fund and support, maintains a pack of hounds which is uniquely good at tracking the few deer which the hunt's stalkers damage without killing when they cull deer.
   • And at times, the Game Department engaged in culling operations to reduce elephant populations in certain areas and relieve pressures on the habitat.
   • The wolves were culled in order to allow moose populations in those areas to increase for hunting purposes.
   • The same applies to culling wild horses, which are doing incredible damage in some National Parks.
   • Discussion of the number of deer culled by the hunts I believe is academic.
   • Since December, 800,000 birds have been culled in an effort to eradicate bird flu.
   • Farmers are calling for drastic measure to cull the population explosion of rabbits.
   • Simply for these numbers to stand still, 25-30 per cent of the population must be culled each year.
   • They may soon be looking for some sporting-types to cull their booming population of man-eating crocodiles.
   • More than 160,000 deer are culled each year because they damage crops and conservation areas through grazing or cause traffic accidents.
   • This just proves it is an ineffective method of culling the fox population.
   • Japan reported an outbreak in early January, isolating farms and culling birds.
   • Deer surely have always been culled in Richmond Park one way or another.

   Synonyms

   slaughter, kill, destroy
2. 1.2 Send (an inferior or surplus animal on a farm) to be slaughtered.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • Currently around 140 cattle are culled each week, some of which are incinerated locally, the remainder shipped to mainland Scotland.
   • Cows were culled only on the basis of structural unsoundness and, infrequently, temperament until the fall of 1990.
   • Many pet pigs were culled during the Foot and Mouth epidemic - some quite needlessly in the contagious cull - and people were so heartbroken that they haven't replaced them.
   • Although there is no legal requirement to cull the cows, farmers have said it may not be profitable to keep them alive.
   • Close to 700,000 older milking and breeding cattle are culled from the national herd each year.
   • Five animals were culled after the initial test in January.
   • Infertility, regardless of cause, is a major reason for culling animals.
   • An entrenched battle exploded between conservationists and planners over whether to cull surplus animals for meat and hides, in addition to shearing them.
   • Furthermore, for every infected farm the animals on neighbouring farms were culled as a precautionary measure.
   • The farmer would either cull the vulnerable calves or, if they are valuable for other reasons, treat them for parasites and then sell the meat in the nonorganic market.
   • In March 2001, during the foot-and-mouth crisis, 800 of his farm's sheep were culled after dangerous contact with infected animals, although there were no signs of the disease in the flock.
   • In June, he culled his older cows and sold them in pairs with their calves.
   • Armed police swooped on a farm following reports of gunfire - to find a farmer culling animals.
   • More than 1,500 animals on five neighbouring farms had been culled as a precaution by last night.
   • However, 125 sheep were culled and removed from the farm in sealed containers.
   • Countryside dwellers are planning direct action protests should a North Yorkshire landfill site be used to bury foot and mouth culled cattle.
   • Cull any cow that is aggressive or difficult to control.
   • Farmers in the Eastern Cape started culling their pigs earlier this week after the first sign of the disease two weeks ago.
   • But his ministry says it does not have the funds to compensate poultry farmers whose birds are culled, or to perform the mass culls themselves.
   • The 211 cattle and 1,000 sheep at Mount Pleasant Farm have been culled and the slaughter of livestock at two contiguous farms was continuing yesterday.
3. 1.3literary Pick (flowers or fruit)
   though they may have cleared the weeds, they have also culled the flowers

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Thus the brother, perusing the books of many saints like a clever bee, culled the flowers of divine quotations.
   • But he could not have based all his multifarious descriptions on personal research, and like any other seeker after knowledge he borrowed other men's observations and culled other men's flowers.

1A selective slaughter of wild animals.

1. 1.1usually as modifier An inferior or surplus livestock animal selected for killing.
   a cull cow

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Cull cow prices have eased slightly this week.
   • Cows removed from the herd as reproductive culls were excluded also.
   • They are the vast majority of UK farmers who have not been ‘taken out’ in livestock culls; farmers who must find markets for their animals, even though they know they will be selling at a loss.
   • The drop in cull cow prices was reflected across the board.
   • The kill of heifers was up 3% at 431,901 head and cull cows were 4% higher at 335,008 head.
   • At the time of marketing, cull cows were individually weighed, and BCS was recorded.
   • They'll take all the cull ewes and rams we send them, and even pay a decent price.
   • One Teagasc survey showed that 20% of beef cattle and cull cows had inadequate levels of copper.
   • However, the primiparous heifer that is open is likely to bring cull cow price or a price at least between the cull cow and an open yearling.
   • Reduce stocking rate by selling yearlings or cull cows.
   • Our beef calves and our cull sows are still sold on a conventional pricing system.
   • The old ' cull ewes' sold for as little as two pounds apiece.
   • The cull heifer prices used were for 1999, the cull cow for 2000, and the calf price for the first calf was for 2000.
   • Cull cow prices showed a sharp increase.
   • Sustainable cowherds require replacement of cull cows either internally via raised heifers or externally with purchased females.
   • He said any increase in cull ewe numbers were being sold through the live export trade.
   • Feeding cull cows a feedlot diet for a period of time before selling may improve quality of animals and overall profitability.
   • The development costs for all heifers were adjusted by the income from the sale of cull heifers.
   • He hasn't sold a cull sow since February.
   • A total of 80 cull cows from four ranches were received at a commercial feedlot near Miles City, MI, in mid-November.