February 19, 2024
Media Contacts: info@projectcoyote.org, 415.945.3232
Billboards Opposing Wildlife Killing Contests Rise In Illinois
Broad Coalition Supports Passage of HB2900 to Ban Wildlife Killing Contests in IL
Springfield, IL — Starting this week, drivers in Illinois will see new billboards along the Interstate 55 corridor (in Logan and Montgomery Counties). Created and funded by Project Coyote, these billboards bring attention to widespread but little known wildlife killing contests, where contestants compete to kill the most, largest or smallest animals for cash, guns or other prizes.
Concerned citizens and advocacy organizations are rallying against these contests by raising awareness of their statewide prevalence and calling for legislators to ban them in 2024. Illinois advocates are urging the passage of HB2900, championed by Assemblymember Anna Moeller, D-43rd District, which would prohibit wildlife killing contests across the state.
“These contests are antithetical to hunter ethics and the tenants of wildlife management. There isn’t a single hunter safety and ethics course that promotes wanton waste,” said Jane McBride, Esq., a longtime resident of Illinois. “I started my working career as a reporter and editor on a daily newspaper. With a degree in wildlife biology in hand I was responsible for a weekly outdoor page. I spent hours and hours in the field with sportsmen and wildlife professionals. I attended every sportsmen’s dinner and event, and founded the local women’s Ducks Unlimited dinner. If these contests came to my attention then, I would surely have written scathing opinion pieces highlighting and opposing the carnage. No ethical sportsman or woman can defend these contests on any grounds. It is that simple.”
Ten states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington) have enacted prohibitions on killing contests. As public attitudes shift and increasing scientific understanding of wildlife dynamics continues to develop, advocates, state agencies, and legislatures around the country are moving quickly to end these contests.
In Illinois, twenty-eight contests have been identified in the state targeting native wildlife including coyotes, foxes and raccoons. However, more contests likely occur across the state. It is difficult to assess how many contests occur in Illinois because organizers and participants are aware that the public does not condone or support these events and operate mostly in secret, with virtual check-ins and little oversight. In 2023, undercover investigations revealed one contest resulted in the killing of 405 coyotes and offered $15,000 in prize money for the killings.
Illinoisans increasingly recognize that coyotes and other wild carnivores are individuals with intrinsic value and play a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, such as suppressing rabbit and rodent populations and helping to control disease transmission. In addition to disregarding the value of wild lives, wildlife killing contests threaten the safety and well-being of hikers, dog walkers, bird watchers, hunters, and other outdoor enthusiasts.
“The science clearly states that wildlife killing contests serve no ecological, conservation or management purpose,” said Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila, PhD in carnivore conservation and Project Coyote Science & Ethics Manager. “What that tells us is that these contests are held purely for the thrill of killing as many wild animals as you can. That reflects only contempt and cruelty for wild lives, while also potentially increasing conflicts with wildlife and undermining important ecological processes that contribute to the wellbeing and resiliency of our ecosystems.”
Coyote killing contest organizers often justify the slaughter with claims that, by reducing the coyote population, they are helping to reduce conflicts with coyotes.
“Wildlife killing contests perpetuate a culture of violence and send the message to children that life has little value and that certain species are disposable,” said Camilla Fox, Executive Director and Founder of Project Coyote and Cofounder of the National Coalition to End Wildlife Killing Contests. “We believe that, like cockfighting and dogfighting, which have been banned in the U.S. because of their unconscionable cruelty, we will bring an end to wildlife killing contests and push this bloodsport to the dustbin of history.”
Viewers of the billboards will be directed to Project Coyote’s Illinois Campaign to End Wildlife Killing Contests webpage, where they can access more information, upcoming events, talking points, films about wildlife killing contests, and a personalizable letter they can send to their legislators in support of HB2900.
Project Coyote co-founded the Coalition to End Wildlife Killing Contests, which now includes more than 60 national and state organizations working together to end this barbaric practice nationwide through federal, state and local bans.
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