Ban coyote killing contests in Nevada

By Erin Hauge, Sacramento, Calif.

Monday, March 30, 2015 | 2 a.m.

The Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners will be deciding whether to accept a petition to ban coyote killing contests in Nevada. California banned coyote killing contests in December 2014, and it would be a huge step for Nevada to be the next state to ban these inhumane and unnecessary activities.

There is no evidence that supports indiscriminate killing contests as an effective wildlife management practice. These contests employ cruel and unethical methods to lure coyotes, such as calling using sounds of distressed young. These contests often come with grim collateral damage of nontarget wildlife, pets and even people. And coyote killing contests send the message to children and others that wildlife is disposable and has no value.

Coyotes are native predators, and their populations self-regulate to the size of territory and available prey. Coyotes provide ecosystems with many benefits, such as controlling populations of rabbits and rodents that compete for livestock forage and carry diseases dangerous to humans such as hantavirus, the plague and Lyme disease.

Ban coyote killing contests in Nevada. Be the next state to end senseless slaughter for money and prizes.

The writer is a certified California naturalist