MassWildlife Proposes Ban On Coyote Hunting Contests​​

BOSTON — Controversy about hunting contests aimed at harvesting coyote prompted MassWildlife to look into and then make recommendations to change the law, lest the practice undermine public support for hunting in general, according to the government body.

“The recommendation addresses public concerns that these hunting contests are unethical, contribute to the waste of animals, and incentivize indiscriminant killing of wildlife, inconsistent with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation,” according MassWildlife on its website, posted late last month.

After holding several listening sessions in June, MassWildlife recommended that the Fisheries and Wildlife Board ban hunting contests for predators and furbearers, prohibit “wanton waste” of all wildlife taken during hunting and trapping, and impose 48 hour reporting requirements on fox and coyote similar to what's already in place with deer, bear and turkey.

The regulations would make it illegal for a person to “organize, sponsor, promote, conduct, or participate” in a hunting contest for coyote as well as for bobcat, red fox, gray fox, weasels, mink, skunk, river otter, muskrat, beaver, fisher, raccoon and opossum.

Several states have banned similar hunting contests, including California, Arizona, Vermont, and New Mexico. New York and Oregon are also considering laws.

Some argue that coyote populations should be controlled in order to maintain deer populations, but statistics show a different view. The number of deer in the state is at a historic high of about 95,000, according to state officials.

"Deer populations are thriving despite the presence of coyotes,” said MassWildlife on its website. “Recent research shows that coyote predation on fawns and adult deer does not impact deer populations.”

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