Coyote hunt

On Jan. 3-17, the trapping organization Montana Furbearer Conservation Alliance is holding a statewide coyote-killing contest fundraiser smugly named “Howler Hauler.” Teams are invited to kill as many coyotes as they can, then send in photographs of the mass slaughter to judges who will determine which carnage merits the grand prize.

The weekend’s scenario may look like something like this:

Teams will roll out in their Dodge 4-by-4s with an arsenal of traps/weapons, including 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 Jan. 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.

The irony of the situation is that the more coyotes killed, loss of livestock or furbearing prey being the justification, the more often coyotes reproduce. They begin mating at an earlier age when their population is threatened, as well as have larger litters.

The more they are attacked, the more resilient they become. When one species is eliminated, it upsets the balance of the entire ecosystem, in this case most directly affecting the prey population.

Killing contests are barbaric, cold-blooded excuses to wage wholesale warfare on species deemed pests by those who feel they have more right to inhabit planet Earth than their prey.

My family of hunters, all of whom refuse to enter killing contests, assure me that ethical hunters don’t kill for pleasure or fun. Are trappers excused from ethics because of the nature of their “sport”?

Susie Waldron

Kalispell