2012
Davis City Council votes unanimously to sever its contract with USDA Wildlife Services (WS) and to work with organizations like Project Coyote to develop a coyote coexistence program after residents learn that WS killed five coyotes — including four pups — whose only crime was being seen on a golf course. Read more.
Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative reporter Tom Knudson exposes the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services in a series of articles for the Sacramento Bee that induces members of Congress to request a federal investigation and oversight hearings of the agency. Project Coyote’s work to reform predator management is highlighted. Read more.
In New Mexico, Project Coyote joins a coalition effort to pass SB 253 – a bipartisan bill to ban coyote killing contests. Co-sponsored by Senator Mark Moores (R-Albuquerque) and Representative Jeff Steinborn (D-Albuquerque), the bill passes the Senate Floor 27-13 but then fails in the House. Project Coyote’s Science Advisory board member Dave Parsons testifies before the Senate and presents Project Coyote’s science letter garnering support from more than 50 prominent scientists from across North America that counters the arguments made by killing contest proponents. Read that letter here.
California Governor Jerry Brown signs SB 1221 into law making California the 15th state to prohibit the hounding of bears and the 14th state to ban the hounding of bobcats. Read more.
Project Coyote’s Camilla Fox and Dr. Paul Paquet serve on a Sierra Club Board of Directors-appointed six member national task force to draft a policy regarding wildlife trapping. On May 19, 2012, the Sierra Club Board of Directors adopts a new “Policy on Trapping of Wildlife,” becoming the first major national environmental organization to adopt a strong policy against body-gripping traps. Read more.
Project Coyote works to pass H.R. 4214: The Compound 1080 and M-44 Elimination Act introduced by Representatives John Campbell (R-CA) and Peter DeFazio, (D-OR) to ban the use of two deadly poisons: sodium fluoroacetate, (Compound 1080) and sodium cyanide, presently used nationwide for lethal predator control. Read more.
Project Coyote produces a short video about coyote and fox penning, aimed at educating policy makers and the public about this cruel practice, which is legal in at least 19 states. Read more.
Camilla Fox and Project Coyote Science Advisory Board member Dr. Paul Paquet co-organize the session “Linking Animal and Conservation Ethics: A Challenge in Conservation” at The Wildlife Society meeting in Portland, Oregon that includes a dynamic array of speakers from across North America. Camilla presents, “Predator Management in the United States: Values, Ethics & Alternatives.”