While other bloodsports like dogfighting and cockfighting have been outlawed nationwide, thousands of native carnivores and other species perish every year in killing contests, derbies, and tournaments across the country. In these barbaric events, contestants win prizes for killing the most or the largest of the targeted species. Targeted animals include coyotes, foxes, bobcats, wolves, mountain lions, crows, squirrels, rabbits, and prairie dogs.
In 2018, Project Coyote co-founded the National Coalition to End Wildlife Killing Contests, and together we have successfully enacted prohibitions on killing contests in seven states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington.
But wildlife killing contests are still widespread across the U.S. In an effort to daylight the hidden war on wildlife, film production company Comfort Theory and National Geographic luminaries Filipe DeAndrade and Brian Moghari reached out to Project Coyote to collaborate on a new film about wildlife killing contests. In this soul-wrenching and inspiring follow-up to Project Coyote’s award-winning documentary KILLING GAMES ~ Wildlife In the Crosshairs, Wildlife Killing Contests provides an inside look at the cruel and wanton waste of killing contests and features the diverse voices and perspectives of those who are working to end these events for good as well as those who participate in and defend killing contests.
We, the undersigned, seek to permanently abolish contests that promote the mass killing of coyotes, wolves, bobcats, foxes, prairie dogs, and other species for sport and prizes on our public lands. We strongly support a modern, evidence-based, and compassionate approach to coexistence with wildlife on public lands.
Although other bloodsports like dogfighting and cockfighting have been outlawed nationwide, thousands of native carnivores and other species perish every year in killing contests, derbies, and tournaments across the country. Killing contests must be outlawed because they are:
- Completely unjustified: Contests are motivated by baseless myths, misunderstanding, and fear.
- Cruel and unsporting: Countless animals are killed, injured, or orphaned as a result of these events, and the use of lures and distress calls to attract target animals is inconsistent with fair chase hunting principles. Companion animals and endangered wildlife are also at risk.
- Counterproductive to sound wildlife management: Mass killing of native carnivores and other keystone species disregards the critical role these species play in healthy ecosystems and creates chaos in the family structures of targeted species, which may result in increased conflicts with livestock, pets, and people.
- A violation of the Public Trust Doctrine: This doctrine holds that wildlife is a shared public asset that must be protected and maintained for present and future generations.
- A promotion of violence: Contest organizers are increasingly encouraging the participation of children as young as ten years old, which teaches our youth that killing is fun, life is cheap, and wild animals are disposable.
These unethical contests are antithetical to modern conservation principles regarding biodiversity conservation and their existence disrupts and harms human and biotic communities. Public lands should be managed for the benefit of all citizens and all wildlife. The sharp crack of military-grade weapons used in killing contests and the grisly sight of lifeless bodies discarded in a heap following these events shock people and other animals in our multi-use public lands. Those who visit our national forests and wildlife sanctuaries in hopes of finding peace and refuge should be able to do so without the fear and trauma of encountering these barbaric contests.
To honor the integrity of our public lands and to preserve and protect our wildlife and our personal safety, we support an ethos of compassionate coexistence and the banning of wildlife killing contests on our public lands.