Wildlife Advocates Say Event is "Incredibly Barbaric"
Today, wildlife advocates blasted the Montana Furbearer Conservation Alliance's (MFCA) state-wide coyote killing "contest" fundraiser as "incredibly barbaric" and said the event "has no place in a civilized society." The "contest," dubbed by the MFCA as the "Howler Hauler," is being held from January 3-17. The wildlife protection organizations, including Big Wildlife and Montana-based Wildlife Watchers, said the MFCA invites teams to kill as many coyotes as they can, then send in photographs of the slaughter to judges who will determine which carnage merits the grand prize.
According to Kalispell resident, Susie Waldron, "In a typical coyote killing contest, hunting teams roll out with an arsenal of traps and weapons, including fake distress calls, to begin blasting away or trapping any coyotes who unwittingly take the bait. After the hit, bodies are piled into the truck bed. On January 17, coyote carcasses galore, the final 'weigh-in,' a photograph of blood-smeared animal flesh and fur worthy of sending to the judges for the grand prize - a percentage of the entry fees. And of course, the satisfaction and exhilaration of doing the livestock industry a great 'justice,' plus pelts to sell."
"There is nothing 'sporting' about luring coyotes into range and then blasting them away or baiting a trap where an animal is caught and suffers horribly. Coyote 'contests' are ruthless events that have no place in a civilized society. Why is it legal in Montana to commit such despicable acts against animals?" said Brian Vincent, Big Wildlife's Communications Director.
Slaughtering coyotes through "contest" hunts is all too common across the U.S. from Maine and New York to Montana to Utah and Oregon. In these "contests," participants compete to kill the most animals within a specified time. Cash prizes are usually awarded to the so-called "hunter" who kills the most or biggest coyotes. Participants often attract coyotes into rifle range with a call that imitates the cry of a coyote in distress or a downed animal. Coyotes, like humans, feel a strong bond to other members of their species, and when they hear this cry for help, they come to investigate. Such "contests" are brutal and foster antipathy toward coyotes, degrading them to vermin status.
"This is another example of cruelty to animals, indecency, and a total lack of respect for living creatures. It also shows extreme ignorance about the important role predators play in ecosystems," said Jerry Black of Missoula-based Wildlife Watchers.
Research shows lethal coyote control is ineffective in the long run and often achieves the opposite of what is intended. When left alone, coyotes regulate their numbers. Coyote populations often follow their prey base. For example, when jackrabbit populations decline, coyote populations usually follow the same trend. Much like wolves, coyotes have a highly structured pack hierarchy, with only the alpha pair breeding. Other females, though physiologically capable of reproducing, are "behaviorally sterile." Coyotes respond to lethal control with a number of biological mechanisms, which work very efficiently to boost their numbers. If an alpha pair in the pack is killed, subordinate pack members splinter off from their original pack, forming new packs, breeding, and eventually bearing larger litters of pups. To feed these new litters, coyotes will reluctantly – as they are wary of "novel" foods – prey upon domestic animals, if adequate quantities of their normal diet of mice, gophers, and rabbits are not available. Killing coyotes not only increases the next generation of coyote numbers, but drives them to hunt sheep and calves they would normally avoid.
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