Definition of "depredation" [dep•re•da•tion]

• A predatory attack; a raid. (noun)
• Damage or loss; ravage: "[Carnegie Hall has] withstood the wear and tear of enthusiastic music lovers and the normal depredations of time” ( Mechanical Engineering). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "However, the Department of Fish and Game does issue what are known as depredation permits which allows the killing of these animals under certain conditions, usually when they pose a danger to livestock or people."
• "As the pasture in which Black Bruin had committed his depredation was a mile from the settler's house and not often visited except to salt the young stock kept in it, the real offender was not discovered, although it was apparent to the farmer that the heifer had been attacked by some wild beast."
• "The wolves have come back in numbers better than anticipated, and ranchers have lobbied for a return of sport hunting, to keep the wolf population numbers down and minimize "depredation"-that's cow-country jargon for "killing cattle.""