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Coyote-hunting tournament in Nevada defended, protested
Page Last Updated: Sunday January 10, 2010 12:00am PST
The 48-hour hunt happened during weekend in Fallon, and netted about 20 animals, officials said.
Churchill County residents justified the hunt saying they are trying to curb the number of coyotes in the area especially since many are having trouble with coyotes killing their livestock and household pets.
Coyotes are unprotected animals in Nevada, which means you do not need a license to hunt them.
Hunt participants said during the weekend those that do not live in the rural area cannot fully understand the problem and they disagreed with those protesting the event.
"How many of them have been out and actually saw how many of these coyotes there are and what they actually are doing, and what the financial impact is on the farmer," said county resident Nona McFarlane. "I think all these people that are the animal rights activists blow things out of proportion and they're not footing the bill for any of it. It falls back onto the farmer and the taxpayers."
"They don't live in this country, they live in the city where everything is pretty much controlled by the city...I mean if they came out here and actually seen what they did to livestock horses, sheep pigs, I mean I've physically seen them when I drive to work on this highway every day I seen them run down the highway with someone's poodle or housecat in their mouth," said county resident Sean Erb.
If the animal rights people have such a big problem with these [hunts] why are they picking on us? The federal government does these things monthly and kills them by the hundreds...and obviously there's a problem or the federal government wouldn't be getting involved."
Activists criticizing the hunt said the event is cruel and unnecessary, and turns into a sporting event rather than simply a way to solve overpopulation.
"I can understand you come out a t night you're calf is being attacked by a coyote, I can understand wanting to defend your calf in that situation," said Trish Swain animal activist with Trail Safe. What I can't understand is a massive community wide going out and slaying each and every coyote out there."
Nevada Department of Wildlife official Chris Healy said the only aspects of this weekend's tournament that are under his organization's jurisdiction is if loaded firearms were in vehicles, and to make sure that protected species were not being hunted.
The Department of Agriculture and Wildlife Services is responsible for predator control in Nevada.
WildEarth Guardians based in Santa Fe, N.M., and Project Coyote based in Larkspur, Calif., were among groups opposing the event that was being organized by ranchers.
Wendy Keefover-Ring of WildEarth Guardians says coyotes play an important role in the ecosystem, and such hunts are unethical because the bodies aren't used for food or anything else.
Organizer Matt McFarlane says he doesn't understand the fuss, noting similar tournaments have been held to help protect livestock elsewhere across the West for decades.
McFarlane says coyotes have killed several calves over the last three weeks at his family's ranch near Fallon.
-MyNews4.com and The Associated Press provided this report.
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Home»News Home»California Headlines»Nevada News»Coyote-hunting tournament in Nevada defended, protested
DIGGERDOUG D.
January 8, 2010 7:02pm PST
Mark as Offensive
Turn this guy McFarlane loose,and we'll hunt him. Why can't people leave wildlife alone? This killing something just to do it does'nt hit it with me. If these things are not endangering something, leave them alone. Just like in the 1800's when they shot all the buffalo, and almost wiped them out.You wanna shoot something, go overseas...