You know coyotes are among the most trapped animals in New Mexico . There are no regulations for season, method or bag limits or any restriction on the killing of these small wild canines. Now, a gun store in Los Lunas, Blackhawk Firearms, is holding a coyote killing contest. Shooters are signing up right now to see who can kill the most coyotes over the weekend of Nov 16-18. The owner of this store has said he is also a trapper. The prize for who brings in the most carcasses is an expensive shotgun or assault rifle. The sponsor needs to know how much New Mexicans disapprove of this senseless violence. The random killing of these native mid-sized carnivores serves no purpose except for use as live targets to make a pile of dead bodies. This is not wildlife management or ethical hunting. No one eats coyote.
Here is what you can do:
1. Protest rally! If you live in the Albuquerque or Los Lunas area, your presences is needed at a rally this weekend at the strip shopping center where the gun store is located to protest this senseless killing before it happens. Bring a sign and bring a friend!
WHAT: Rally to protest killing coyote killing contest
WHEN: This Saturday Nov. 10 from 12 noon to 2PM
WHERE: 1400 Main St. Los Lunas
Shopping Center Location of Gunhawk Firearms
(take the Los Lunas exit from I-25 and head east toward town.
Click here for map. Please do not park in the shoping center but at the
Los Lunas High baseball field which is very nearby)
- Please send a letter to Governor Susana Martinez asking her to denounce this and all killing contests. They cast a very bad light on our state. Click here
- Please send a letter in your own words to the Albuquerque Journal http://www.abqjournal.com/letters/new expressing your disapproval. You can reference this article. Keep it short and respectful. Here are some talking points.
- This random killing of coyotes will not protect livestock. US Department of Agriculture’s own data reports that native carnivores are responsible for a tiny percentage of all livestock losses and coyotes in particular only a fraction of that.
- Randomly killing coyotes throws into disarray their natural social structure that limits their population. More will breed and litters will be bigger.
- Random killing does not help the natural ecosytem because at least temporarily, coyotes that are doing the job of keeping rodents and rabbits in check will be lost. At the end of the day, there will just be a mountain of coyote carcasses to dispose of. No one eats coyote.
- Click here for excellent letter from Dr. Robert L. Crabtree who has studied and researched coyotes and their ecology for decades about how killing coyotes is not only ineffective for protecting livestock or deer, it may actually increase losses of these animals
