If
killing defenseless animals for prizes sounds like fun to you, be sure
not to miss Minnesota’s upcoming “Save the Birds” Coyote Hunting
Tournament. Cash prizes are awarded for the most coyotes
killed, and the largest and smallest killed as well. There aren't many
rules, and there's no limit.
Wildlife-killing
contests are currently allowed as a form of "charitable gambling" in
Minnesota. Many have looked the other way, not wanting to interfere with
the seemingly-popular fishing contests and "big buck" deer hunting
contests, but it's harder to look away as the bloody carcasses of
coyotes accumulate. Coyotes in Minnesota are classified as “unprotected
wild animals,” so they're hunted and trapped year-round, with few
regulations, no limits, and often no sense. Although the targeted
removal of coyotes can be necessary when they cause problems on farms,
these coyote-killing competitions aren't any part of that.
These tournaments are disastrous to wildlife, and
glorify killing for the sake of killing. Please join me in calling on
the Minnesota DNR to ban this bloodsport and prohibit wildlife-killing
contests statewide.
Organizers
of these events often claim that they are helping to control predator
populations, but studies have shown the opposite effect: increased
predator reproduction followed by increased attacks on livestock.
Many
of these tournaments encourage “junior” participants, saying that it's
an opportunity to teach the ethics of sportsmanship to young hunters.
But there’s nothing ethical about it. The piles of carcasses at the
“finish lines” of these events show that this is not hunting, but
thrill-killing on a staggering scale.
These
contests are ineffective at best, savage at worst. In areas where
predator control is needed, professionally developed “best management
practices” are more effective, and more humane.
Other
states are heeding the call to ban these contests--last year,
California outlawed events that award prizes for killing wildlife. In
addition, they've been banned on federal land in Idaho, legal action has
halted gambling on them in Oregon, and legislation has been introduced
to outlaw them in New Mexico, Nevada, and New York.
Let’s
call on the Minnesota DNR to join the movement toward ethical wildlife
management, and ban wildlife-killing contests statewide.
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