That's great! I also contacted my State Rep and Senator (Alonso-Leon and
Courtney). I wrote a letter to the editor (Salem) but no go on that.
________________________________
From: Darrel Whipple <dwhipple@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2018 12:00 PM
To: Margaret Stephens
Cc: Birds of Oregon BOO
Subject: Re: [boo] Fw: MEDIA RELEASE: Groups Seek to Stop Coyote Killing
Contest in Burns, Oregon
Thank you, Margaret. I am writing my legislator Brad Witt.
Darrel
On Nov 13, 2018, at 7:45 AM, Margaret Stephens
<mlstep@xxxxxxx<mailto:mlstep@xxxxxxx>> wrote:
There is hope...
________________________________
From: Project Coyote <info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2018 6:01 AM
To: mlstep@xxxxxxx<mailto:mlstep@xxxxxxx>
Subject: MEDIA RELEASE: Groups Seek to Stop Coyote Killing Contest in Burns,
Oregon
[Project
Coyote]<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=H%2FXSzsHKP532gwyIOx4yHNk6Ib6KeW00>
<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=hBcIN4HqX8eHZXu6FPnWP3cw4dLMqAVL>
<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2BnQT%2FPu%2Fg5lbYklQbZWcTtk6Ib6KeW00>
<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=DzqN3QKl6xIR1NOYW9k5udk6Ib6KeW00>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 13, 2018
Groups Seek to Stop Coyote Killing Contest in Burns, Oregon
State and National Organizations Call for Cancellation of Event and a Statewide
Ban on Wildlife Killing Contests
BURNS, Ore. — State and national conservation and animal welfare organizations
have sent a
letter<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=3fLfT%2FmbUE%2BFAGa1%2FSMjvNk6Ib6KeW00>
to the Oregon Farm Bureau requesting cancellation of the upcoming Young
Farmers & Ranchers (YFR) 1st Annual Coyote Hunting
Tournament<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZjvzYuEFlI4iTcQwFPlmh9k6Ib6KeW00>
in Burns, and asking for support of a statewide ban on wildlife killing
contests in Oregon. The letter was sent in advance of the YFR Leadership
Conference<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=TlO46x5XxKb0GgisFIN2edk6Ib6KeW00>
that took place last weekend in Redmond.
Wildlife killing contests, in which participants compete for cash and prizes
for killing the heaviest or greatest number of the targeted species, are a
gruesome spectacle, akin to a blood sport like dogfighting and cockfighting.
While this event is advertised as a coyote killing contest, often foxes,
bobcats, and in some Western states, even mountain lions and wolves are
targeted in such events. A 2018 video of an undercover
investigation<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=E12suJ0IQ%2BM07yQ1xXmz59k6Ib6KeW00>
by the Humane Society of the United States showed contest participants
amassing piles of coyote and fox carcasses to be judged for prizes, and
laughing and posing for photos in front of the dead animals. In many contests,
youth are encouraged to participate, and hunting equipment and high-powered
rifles—including AR-15s—are awarded as raffle prizes.
The Burns coyote killing contest is slated to take place from November 30 –
December 2, 2018. According to the contest
advertisement<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=3a3fT1uLrXFK5honhLiWrtk6Ib6KeW00>,
teams will compete to kill as many coyotes as possible; the team with the
greatest total weight of all coyotes killed will win. A portion of the proceeds
will go to the YFR program.
Wildlife killing contests contravene modern, science-based wildlife management
principles. In a signed
statement<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=RIq5T3%2B8MZG1o6Dl9kkDPNk6Ib6KeW00>,
more than 65 prominent conservation scientists refute myths perpetuated by
special interest agricultural and trophy hunting groups that killing contests
are an effective method for managing carnivore populations. Using peer-reviewed
literature, the statement explains that there is no scientific evidence to
support claims that indiscriminate killing of coyotes prevents livestock loss,
boosts populations of game animals like deer, or effectively reduces coyote
populations. Killing contests more than likely lead to a greater abundance of
coyotes and more conflicts because it creates instability in coyote family
structures.
A recent
issue<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Hy5u6%2BWjfuXW1v8ZR%2FPXZNk6Ib6KeW00>
of Oregon Small Farm News highlighted research finding that lethal control of
coyotes only increased livestock losses, and that coyotes with no record of
livestock depredation, and who have established themselves in a territory that
overlaps with sheep pastures, can actually prevent livestock losses by
excluding coyotes from neighboring packs who may have learned to kill sheep.
“Killing coyotes for fun and prizes is ethically repugnant, morally bankrupt
and ecologically indefensible,” saidCamilla
Fox<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ISUeQNaxbTnPfuyUpkwwedk6Ib6KeW00>,
founder and executive director of Project Coyote. “It is high time this
practice is banned in Oregon, following the lead of California and Vermont.”
“These gruesome wildlife killing contests teach Oregon’s youth nothing about
sportsmanship, and instead send them the dangerous message that hunting is
about nothing more than winning cash and prizes,” said Kelly
Peterson<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=F0aduQV2ZxIQf5YltZmP5Nk6Ib6KeW00>,
Oregon senior state director for the Humane Society of the United States.
“Killing contests have no place in modern, science-based wildlife management
and violate the good stewardship of our land and natural resources and the
humane values that Oregonians expect from our state’s ranchers and farmers.”
“These competitions are symptomatic of a broader problem of misguided wildlife
governance by state agencies that fails to recognize and value the crucial
ecological roles of native predators and that considers it more expedient to
kill than to implement responsible, science-based conservation,” said Dave
Parsons,
MS<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=VLtfY7aIQAUTyGpAqQPxTtk6Ib6KeW00>,
retired career wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and
Project Coyote Science Advisory Board member.
Wildlife killing contests are a violation of the Public Trust Doctrine, a
foundational judicial principle mandating that governments hold natural assets,
including wildlife, in trust for the general public and future generations.
Allowing a minority of the population to slaughter coyotes en masse even though
the majority of people value the intrinsic, ecological and aesthetic value of
native carnivores damages the reputation of state wildlife management agencies
and sportsmen and sportswomen alike.
In recent years,
California<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9VcKVhHBFJEJIK4iAXVolNk6Ib6KeW00>
and
Vermont<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=b5Z7KcYsqEm47PAr4KUrAdk6Ib6KeW00>
have banned coyote killing contests, and Oregon will consider similar
legislation in 2019. Recently, the city council of Albuquerque, New Mexico,
unanimously passed a
resolution<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=P%2Fyk33RuGwMrpNvVWXtKYtk6Ib6KeW00>
calling for a statewide ban on coyote killing contests. The city of Tucson and
Pima County in Arizona have also passed similar resolutions in recent years.
Oregon has more than its share of wildlife killing contests, including an
annual event in Harney
County<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=N98NpaPiPe%2B8geVouWznMNk6Ib6KeW00>.
Since coyotes are considered predatory animals, they can be hunted year-round,
and there are no limits as to how many coyotes someone may kill or the manner
in which they’re killed.
* * * * *
View a copy of the letter sent to the Oregon Farm Bureau regarding the Burns
coyote killing contest
here<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=vRYp%2BNtKydUHadT00af7a9k6Ib6KeW00>.
See the Humane Society of the United States’ in-depth look at wildlife killing
contests, “Better off alive,” in the September-October 2018 issue of All
Animals
magazinehere<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=g72SG%2F0dESRmjQ%2FzhD6SMNk6Ib6KeW00>.
View the National Coalition to End Wildlife Killing Contests’ mission statement
and list of members
here<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=pHnhSUGBupro2iSznpv4xtk6Ib6KeW00>.
Learn about Project Coyote’s award winning documentary, KILLING GAMES ~
Wildlife In The Crosshairs, that exposes wildlife killing contests
here<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=IBW8DcL9UId2guaVK0qm2Nk6Ib6KeW00>
andhere<http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2FPvdvCPPSf1Mifq%2FUAWeVNk6Ib6KeW00>.
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