Until this year, the annual mass killing of coyotes called the Coyote Derby was a long weekend of killing coyotes, making piles of their bodies and getting money for the biggest pile. Most of the bodies were dumped somewhere afterward.
The annual Coyote Derby was stopped by citizen protest and legislative action, so this year the entire month of February has been designated as Kill Coyotes Month.
One of the reasons people give for killing coyotes is that it helps the deer population.
This is not true. Ask VT Fish and Wildlife, who have done a long study of just this subject.
Another reason is that the coyote population itself needs controlling.
This is not true either. Killing coyotes increases their numbers. A true thing is that coyotes, along with foxes, are the primary predators of the white-footed mouse, and this little animal is the primary host of the ticks that cause Lyme disease.
My dad and his dad, both hunters, taught me that killing for fun is just wrong. I believe that too.
No animal is “trash.” How people can say so — I don’t understand.
Anna Rose Benson
Weybridge