Predator-hunting contests face bans amid backlash in several states
A coyote in a field. By Karin Brulliard Karin Brulliard Reporter and editor for Animalia Email Bio Follow May 17 at 8:00 AM In mid-December, a hunting contest was held in central Arizona for the 11th year in a row. The team that killed the most coyotes won. The event’s name emphasized the goal: It was called the “Santa Slay Coyote Tournament.”
Arizona is among several states that are mulling or have enacted similar bans of private contests amid pressure from animal protection groups and growing public outcry. New Mexico prohibited coyote-hunting tournaments in the state last month, as did Vermont in 2018. California in 2014 outlawed all predator-hunting contests, and lawmakers in New Jersey, New York and Oregon are considering some form of ban.
The competitions are held in at least 45 states, said Jill Fritz, director of wildlife protection for the Humane Society of the United States, which for two years has worked with the California-based advocacy group Project Coyote to lead a push against the events. In a 2018 news release, the Humane Society said its undercover investigations at contests in New York and New Jersey documented “participants slinging the dead bodies of coyotes and foxes into piles” and joking about their deaths.
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission proposed the prohibition on predator-hunting contests following widening opposition at the local level. Several Arizona municipalities and counties, including the city of Tucson and Yavapai County, where the Santa Slay was held, have passed resolutions condemning the events. If approved, a statewide ban would take effect by this fall, said Zieler, who estimated that 10 to 12 of the contests are staged each year in Arizona.
While many hunting contests target coyotes, some offer rewards for killing foxes, bobcats, or even crows. The organizer of the Santa Slay, a predator-hunting group called Call-In The Country, did not respond to a request for comment. On Facebook, it encouraged its followers to oppose the change in public comments to the game and fish commission. “It is important that you are professional in your email and do not come across like a redneck against the humane society,” it wrote.
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