Penning, the practice of confining coyotes and foxes in fenced enclosures and allowing packs of dogs to chase and often maul them for “sport” and “entertainment”— with little opportunity for protection or escape— is a cruel and vicious practice that is prevalent in Virginia and several other states.
More than 6,000 dead coyotes have been redeemed by hunters since Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources launched its coyote bounty program last September.
In December 2012, Phoenix-based Wildlife Services employee Russell Files trapped his neighbor’s 2-year-old dog Zoey in his unfenced front yard.
It was an August morning two years ago when Maggie, a spry, 7-year-old border collie, slipped through the backyard fence of her family’s suburban Oregon home.
Late last year, Wyoming trapper Jamie Olson, from Douglas, posted pictures on Facebook of his trained Airedales attacking a coyote caught in a leg-hold trap.