VALLEY VILLAGE, CA—California-based Project Coyote has released a video depicting a coyote pup captured in an illegally set leghold trap in the upscale neighborhood of Valley Village (adjacent to North Hollywood), and law enforcement agencies are currently investigating the incident for possible criminal violations.
Mendocino County supervisors voted Tuesday to renew the county’s contract with a federal agency that aids ranchers in killing predators that prey on their livestock. The county had previously contracted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, which has garnered criticism from animal advocates for killing predators such as coyotes, mountain lions and bobcats instead of considering nonlethal ways of curbing attacks on local livestock.
Since 2014, Gowan Batist, co-owner and manager of Fortunate Farm in Caspar and a fifth-generation sheep rancher, has utilized non-lethal methods to protect the farm’s 40 sheep grazed regularly on approximately 120 acres of land including their own, their neighbors and Jughandle State Park. “With a large coyote population, we have had, over the years, several losses to coyotes. We didn’t want to shoot them so we went from hardscape fencing to electric mesh; we haven’t had a loss since then,” she says.
As sportsmen and conservationists, we commend the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission for considering CR-102, a proposed rule to ban wildlife killing contests statewide. Competitions involving indiscriminate killing of animals for cash and prizes – the greatest number, the largest, or even the youngest – promote irresponsible waste and devalue wildlife and their sensitive habitats. This rule will address the public’s concerns that these events are cruel, unethical and ecologically destructive, and will protect the reputation of the state’s sportsmen and women who understand that killing contests show complete disregard for life and threaten the future of Washington’s legitimate hunting traditions.
We’ve reached out to you before for your help in urging Mendocino County to permanently terminate its contract with the USDA Wildlife Services, which has trapped, shot, and killed hundreds of bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, mountain lions and other wildlife in Mendocino—and inadvertently killed non-target species, including imperiled wildlife and beloved pets. The County has been using taxpayer dollars to pay for their lethal wildlife management program, often on behalf of commercial agricultural interests.