Shoot, shovel, and shut up

Shoot, shovel, and shut up, also known as the 3-S treatment, refers to a method for dealing with unwanted or unwelcome animals primarily in rural areas.

When applied to marauding dogs, the implication is that the offending canine will be killed by firearm and, as far as the owner is concerned, disappear with no apparent clues because of the reticence of the person employing the method.

The phrase was used in this sense in Living Well on Practically Nothing by Edward H. Romney, who pointed out that while one might get away with using the 3-S treatment in rural areas, suburban neighborhoods have different norms.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Ralph R. Reiland wrote an essay called "Shoot, Shovel & Shut Up,"[3] describing landowners' reactions to finding red-cockaded woodpeckers on their property.

Under the Endangered Species Act, landowners who have a population of such birds on their property may be subject to restrictions on building and other land uses that would interfere with the animals' habitat.