New Mexico’s coyotes are depending on you to stand up against brutal killing contests that glorify killing them for killing’s sake, and which cast New Mexico in a terrible light.
Their eerie howl wakes residents of cities as populous as New York and Chicago.
The recent coyote hunt in Modoc County that sent environmentalists into conniptions illustrates a growing philosophical divide in California that has placed wildlife officials in a political and cultural crossfire.
A parade of angry citizens and coyote advocates showed up at the Fish and Game Commission meeting in Sacramento on Wednesday to demand that state officials stop a planned coyote killing contest in Modoc County, but commissioners said that current regulations do not allow them to interfere with the annual hunt, which is legal under state law.
Many people see coyotes as dirty pests that get into trashcans, eat dogs and attack people – but humans and coyotes can coexist peacefully, according to Belmont Animal Control Officer John Maguranis.