Project Coyote has learned that two coyote killing contests have been announced in Nevada—the Coyote Derby in Austin on October 7, and the Nevada Coyote Calling Championship in Las Vegas on November 10-11.
We need your voice now to stop these cruel and inhumane contests!
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| Coyote Derby Austin, NV October 7, 2017 |
Nevada Coyote Calling Championship Las Vegas, NV November 10-11, 2017 |
Please take the steps below to help put an end to the barbaric practice of killing wildlife for “entertainment” in the state of Nevada.
For the wild,
Camilla Fox
Founder & Executive Director
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1 – Write and call your state legislators today. Locate your legislators here; write and call to tell them you oppose killing contests in your state.
2 – Contact the local BLM and Forest Service representatives; write and call to tell them you oppose killing contests in your state:
- Tim Smith, District Manager
BLM, Southern Nevada District Office
4701 N. Torrey Pines Road
Las Vegas, NV 89130
702-515-5000
lvfoweb@blm.gov - Lance Brown, District Ranger
Austin Ranger District
USDA Forest Service
100 Midas Canyon Road
P.O. Box 130
Austin, NV 89310-0130
775-964-2671
3 – Write Letters to the Editor of your local paper(s) to raise public awareness and to encourage others to take action—e.g.: Reno Gazette-Journal, Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Review-Journal, and Las Vegas Tribune. Use our tips and tools for writing LTEs.
4 – Talking Points for your calls, emails, and LTEs:
- Coyote killing contests are conducted for profit, entertainment, prizes, and simply for the “fun” of killing.
- Killing contests serve no wildlife management function. Coyote populations that are not exploited (e.g., hunted or trapped) form stable family groups that naturally limit populations through defense of territory and the suppression of breeding by subordinate female members of the family group. Indiscriminate killing of coyotes disrupts this social stability, resulting in increased reproduction and pup survival.
- Coyotes play an important ecological role in helping to maintain healthy ecosystems and species diversity. As the top carnivore in some ecosystems, coyotes provide a number of benefits, including regulating the number of mesocarnivores (such as skunks, raccoons, and foxes), which in turn helps to boost biodiversity as well as song and ground bird populations. Read more here.
- Coyote killing contests perpetuate a culture of violence and send the message to children that life has little value and that an entire species of animals is disposable and despicable.
- Coyote killing contests put non-target wildlife (including highly endangered Mexican wolves), companion animals, and people at risk.
- Banning killing contests will not restrict the ability of ranchers or others to protect their property (including livestock), will not undermine Second Amendment gun ownership rights, nor limit hunting in any other way.
PLEASE SEE PROJECT COYOTE’S WILDLIFE KILLING CONTEST FACT SHEET FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
Watch wildlife biologist and Project Coyote Science Advisory Board member Dave Parsons talk about wildlife killing contests.
Click here to read more about wildlife killing contests and watch a 60-second trailer of Project Coyote’s documentary film, KILLING GAMES ~ Wildlife In The Crosshairs.
Thank you for showing your critical support for coyotes by joining Project Coyote and our coalition partners in our efforts to stop coyote killing contests in Nevada.
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