Coyote controversy

[MADMAX2]

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/Articl ... ?e=2924911

Found this in my local paper this am.Some of the comments under the article are amusing

[Mr. Dynamite]

Wow, that article is stupid. That editor sounds like a rather dense soccer mom.

"The coyote is a majestic animal." Has she ever seen one I wonder? Not that some of them don't look nice, just that an animal such as this is not the first to pop into mind when someone says "majestic animal." This point must just be a matter of opinion.

On Tuesday the A-Channel here in London had an thing about coyotes and the bounty in their evening news. I did not see all of it, but it looked to be in a little bit better light than this editorial. I could not find a link to it on their sight either.

[hoser]

This subject has been taken to a new level in the Ottawa area. Last years ring leader of the anti- Coyote Contest has taken up with 2 more animal activist groups and hired a lawyer. They claim hunting contests violate the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Act under "Hunting or Trapping for Gain". Their lawyer has sent a letter to the MNR requesting they intervene to stop the contests.
In my opinion, this section of the act (taken literally) contradicts the whole purpose of hunting. Do you not hunt to "gain" meat, hides, trophies?
Do contests induce you to hunt?

[j.krug]

We'll see how "majestic" she thinks it is after it rips apart her poodle!!

[hikerman]

Don't get me wrong, I would like to hunt coyotes just haven't had the oportunity yet.

But hunting coyotes does very little to reduce there population. Yes something has to be done. Like wolves the will populate to maintain a pack size in relation to the amount of food. Problem is cattle is provides food.

I read some articles on deer managment and what they tried instead of clearing out coyotes, provide better habitat for deer to servive in. Like better hinding pleases during the spring, more food exctra. Which will make it harded for the coyote to find food. They will reduce there own population.

But with cattle this is not posible.

I know the Gray-Bruce county is carzy with coyotes.

[MADMAX2]

We will always have to deal with coyotes and like Pyd has stated in another topic some of them have become less scared of humans and human encroachment into their territory and become a problem for us his business is to target those that become a problem.
What we need is a healthy balance and to make sure coyotes always fear man for we are at this moment in time are at the top of the food chain and in a few sad incidents Mr coyote seems to forget that!!

[N8tr Boy]

The problem with the coyote contest and what the "Anti's" might be able to stop the contest with is, the coyote is a "fur-bearing" animal and unless your a trapper and have a permit to sell the animal in whole or part you are breaking the Fish and Wildlife regs because you are making money on wildlife.

An example would be (fitting for this forum) if you harvested an beautiful buck and made some knife handles out of the antler and sold it on Kijji as antler knife or sold a deer/antler mount, you are putting the price on the product of your harvest,the deer. If you sell in as a knife with an antler handle the value is the knife not the handle and the mount you can only give it away.

With the contest you are receiving money ,prizes for the harvesting of the said animal, therefore gaining from it's harvest.

It's a fine line , but very contentious when I took the trapping course 2 years ago.