11 January 2007

Coyote killing contest prompt howls

Coyotes caused an estimated $47 million in damage to the cattle industry in 2005, according to the USDA. Sheep losses topped $10 million in 2004.
Coyotes are bad, mean, dirty, noisy, and reproduce like bunnies. I live in the city, and have greenbelt/creek behind my house. I was awakened just this week by a pack of coyotes running down the greenbelt. It's an unmistakable sound, and kinda creepy. I've seen coyotes in busy intersections right here in town, running around unmolested.

So, anyway, there's a coyote killing contest going on in Montana this weekend, offering up a $6000 purse. Even the USDA's Wildlife Services division kills about 80,000 coyotes a year. Sounds like a good plan to me - kill varmints, get paid. It's a win-win deal, if you ask me.

Except for one thing: someone's going to be upset.
"You kill some coyotes and six months later it's as if you didn't kill any at all. What are they accomplishing other than just being barbaric?" asked Brooks Fahy, executive director of Predator Defense.
Predator Defense? WTF? Do they represent lions, sharks, coyotes, and gators at murder trials? I think Brooks deserves to see what a coyote can do to the family pet.

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