Please read and sign (and let your friends know about) our new petition at coyotecoexistence.com to stop the coyote killing contest in Grayson County, Virginia: “We’re dealing with a county of farmers that believe the coyotes are ripping their horses and livestock limb from limb in vicious packs — and also I’m being told that, quote “people ’round here need the money’ from the contest.”
Here is the awful announcement:
INDEPENDENCE — Grayson County is announcing an official contest exclusively for Grayson County citizens as an added incentive to hunt and kill nuisance coyotes. The contest will begin this Wednesday, Oct. 15 and continue through May 15, 2015. According to a county news release, the winner will be judged by only one measure — how many dead coyotes he or she turns into the county.
The only prerequisites to participate in the contest are that you must be a citizen of Grayson County, be in good standing with the county and kill at minimum seven coyotes within the contest period. Citizens will not need to register to participate, they simply need to turn in their coyotes to the county per the Coyote Bounty Ordinance and be the hunter to claim the most coyotes within the contest period and win the honor of Top Coyote Hunter and a $500 cash prize. In the case of a tie, the prize money will be divided equally.
The prize money will be in addition to the $40 bounty per coyote the county has been paying since county supervisors enacted the coyote bounty program in March. According to language in the ordinance creating the program, coyotes threaten the county’s livestock and agricultural interests and reduce the number of deer available to hunters.
“This is a fun and creative way to engage more of our hunters in helping to remove this nuisance animal from the county landscape,” Glen “Eddie” Rosenbaum, the supervisor representing Grayson’s Wilson District, said. “Whoever kills the most coyotes in this seven month span will be deemed the Top Coyote Hunter in the county and will take home an extra $500 for their service.”
Coyote Yipps 
Oct 26, 2014 @ 08:50:58
This is so disgusting as well as shocking that a city would have such disregard for its wildlife and actually turn killing animals into a contest. And the reasons for killing coyotes is just as disgusting.
“According to language in the ordinance creating the program, coyotes threaten the county’s livestock and agricultural interests and reduce the number of deer available to hunters.”
Coyotes have more of a god given right to be killing deer in order to eat and survive. This is how it works out there in the wild world. Hunters are killing deer for sport not survival. And if livestock is threatened then it is the job of the farmer to protect it not the government or taxpayers. They can buy those specialized guard dogs “maremas” to protect them. This is a really really sad situation.