If you were hunting big game & came across a coyote..

[Cob]

Quote:
I just don't see how people talk about ethics and whatnot, while killing certain animals (coyotes, possums, armadillos) and leaving them to rot.

Would you kill a wasp or bee that had just stung you? Would you think twice about killing it? bury a roach after you stepped on him, or bury a rat or mouse you caught in a mouse trap?


Sometimes Prejudice can take weird forms... Wildlife management sometimes involves reducing numbers of certain living things, so other living things get a better chance at life. Taking out a coyote when the opportunity arises really is no different than the above examples, only the living form looks more like a dog...Sometimes this causes psychological problems for Dog-lovers...BTW Coyotes will eat a dog too.

 

[kyle1974]

If they're furry, that means they matter more. .

 

[Hellifino]

I hunt a ranch in Texas that requires you to shoot -a coyote,then a hog, and if it's still there, a game animal last! Which I have no problem with.

 

[Weedy]

I just don't see how people talk about ethics and whatnot, while killing certain animals (coyotes, possums, armadillos) and leaving them to rot.

You probably have never seen their impact on livestock have you? Yes, when I shoot coyotes they are left, but are quickly eaten by other animals, not left to rot.

I also shoot opossums that I find/catch near the house because they get into anything they can and cause huge problems. Again, they are left as food for some other species.

There are also occasions where we will shoot wild hogs and not have time to clean them and they will be left to be eaten by something else.

If you don't have firsthand experience with nuisance species you won't wholly understand. And, there is a difference between hunting ethically, and eradicating.


ETA: I don't kill things for fun, nor for their looks. I kill deer and birds for food, and I kill nuisance animals because of the problems they cause.

OK thank you but I don't need to own livestock to know that coyotes can prey upon them, and I do understand protecting your animals. BUT...if you don't own livestock, and you are nowhere near a farm or ranch, and you're just sittin on a deer stand, why? Why kill it?
I know its useless trying to argue this point. Kinda like religion and politics, people just do what they're gonna do I suppose.
One of the best moments I ever had while out hunting was watching a coyote for a while before it walked right up to me, looked me in the eyes, and walked away. It never fully knew I was there (I don't think) but it eventually knew something wasn't quite right. I love dogs too and I think coyotes are too dog-like for me to shoot.
Yeah I'm just a big wuss when it comes to fuzzy woodland creatures, I admit it.

 

[Weedy]

Would you kill a wasp or bee that had just stung you? Would you think twice about killing it? bury a roach after you stepped on him, or bury a rat or mouse you caught in a mouse trap?


Sometimes Prejudice can take weird forms... Wildlife management sometimes involves reducing numbers of certain living things, so other living things get a better chance at life. Taking out a coyote when the opportunity arises really is no different than the above examples, only the living form looks more like a dog...Sometimes this causes psychological problems for Dog-lovers...BTW Coyotes will eat a dog too.

I appreciate your attempt at a biology/psychology lesson, but comparing a coyote or whatever to a wasp or bee that just stung me is completely apples and oranges. The coyote isn't trying to harm me. And potential to harm is no excuse for killing things. I understand the principles of wildlife managemant. I say good day sir.

 

[35 Whelen]

Depends...Hunting behind the house? You bet. I have free-range chickens and coyotes and stray dogs are shot on sight. Hunting away from the house? Never. We raised cattle from the time I was a kid which included a couple of years on a dairy, and we never lost an animal to a coyote. Away from the house, they' don't bother anything and I enjoy watching them.

35W

 

[303tom]

Would you want someone to shoot your dog just because they could ?
NO.
Well then what makes you think GOD wants you to shoot his dog. Just because you can.

 

[X-Rap]

During the off season I'll try to give every coyote the dirt nap but when I'm hunting for meat and bone I'll give em the pass unless I'm bow hunting.
Never thought of them as Gods dog, maybe Satans? no those would be wolves.

 

[wankerjake]

Would you want someone to shoot your dog just because they could ?
NO.
Well then what makes you think GOD wants you to shoot his dog. Just because you can.

Then maybe God should keep "his dogs" on a leash. Problem solved, glad we could reason thru this.

 

[Mike1234567]

Well, ain't this one becoming entertaining.

After some research I can understand why some folks would want to kill every coyote they run across. Personally, I remain unconvinced that it's necessary. Near one's home or ranch/farm? Yes. Way off in the wilderness? Not so much.

 

[MCgunner]

Dang, between this thread and the ethical shot thread, seems to be a lot of tree huggers and granola crunchers around here.

How many chatters here belong to the HSUS or PETA, raise your hands....

 

[Mike1234567]

I'm not a member of any group. I'm just an opinionated wuss. I do like granola though.

 

[MCgunner]

Well, I started another ethics thread you can lambaste me on.

 

[Weedy]

Seriously , why do people like to make comments about PETA and granola and tree hugging, or being a liberal, when a person thinks animals should be treated humanely (that includes being killed humanely)? Or mentioning that animals have some intrinsic value just like we do? Is it cool, or macho, or tough, or "conservative", to want to kill things? I can never understand that.

 

[Mike1234567]

^^^ Because some folks were raised that way. If you don't like beatin' sumthin' ta' death ya' ain't a real man.

 

[allaroundhunter]

And potential to harm is no excuse for killing things.

Actually, self defense laws say the threat of potential harm gives a person to use deadly force on another human being....So at times, yes, it is more than an excuse, it is a valid reason.

 

[Weedy]

Actually, self defense laws say the threat of potential harm gives a person to use deadly force on another human being....So at times, yes, it is more than an excuse, it is a valid reason.

I mean potential as in, a bear has teeth so it can potentially harm you. A deer has antlers which could potentially harm you. A coyote could attack your toddler if it wanted to. I'm talking potential to harm versus imminent threat.

What is the "threat of potential harm" anyway? That phrase doesn't really make sense. How could you threaten to potentially harm someone?

 

[allaroundhunter]

What is the "threat of potential harm" anyway? That phrase doesn't really make sense. How could you threaten to potentially harm someone?

A stranger broke into your house with a gun. The threat of being potentially harmed is there, and you do not have to wait until that harm materializes to defend yourself, your family, and your home.

I understand that you could not bring yourself to kill a coyote because it looks like a dog, but many of us do so that you have deer to hunt when the season comes around.

And I actually have to kill feral dogs fairly often. That means dogs that have been pets, many of whose owners have given up on them and just let them go. Once in the wild they breed, become aggressive and do not trust humans.Trust me, these look a lot more like pet dogs than coyotes do. And yes, I kill them even if they aren't harming me at the time. I am a dog lover, but I also understand what it means to protect the well being of other animals that otherwise cannot defend for themselves.

Believe it or not, killing coyotes is another form of conservation, just like the deer that you kill.

 

[Big Bad Bob]

I kill all the yotes and hogs I see. But then again I have a 4 month rifle season for whitetail. If I was in states with much shorter seasons I would possibly think twice. My philosophy is kill em and keep kill em.

And to the granola munchers, who are trolling, coyotes and wild hogs in the Southeast have no natural predator. They are a nuisance species that do major damage to agriculture, livestock and naturally occurring wild game species. It is not only responsible but ethical to eliminate non-natural existing species that have no natural predation, so as not to disturb the ecological balance of a specific wildlife area.

Be unhappy as you may, the circle of life will continue around you whether you like it or not.

 

[Mike1234567]

I really wish folks would stop with the "granola muncher", "troll", and "tree hugger" insults. You can and are making a convincing enough argument without the need such childishness. I'm now convinced enough to do more research but others, who you may alienate with rudeness, are more likely to become more stubborn.

 

[leadaddict]

I've seen several coyotes while out deer hunting. I've not ever shot at one simply because my hunting days are too few to risk scaring off a deer.

 

[tdstout]

My main question is, what's wrong with eatin granola?

Other than that, I've had too many dogs killed by coyotes to feel any kind of sympathy for them. I'll shoot them on sight. And to the guy that was asking about killing something for being able to "potentially harm" you, do you wait for a wasp to sting you, or do you swat it before it gets a chance? You may be different, but most people try to kill wasps on sight. I know that I do.

 

[allaroundhunter]

One of the best moments I ever had while out hunting was watching a coyote for a while before it walked right up to me, looked me in the eyes, and walked away. It never fully knew I was there (I don't think) but it eventually knew something wasn't quite right.

I'm going to completely agree with you here. When I am on the golf course and I see a coyote, I don't even think about shooting it. I am intrigued watching them. I love every aspect of nature (except mosquitos) and watching wildlife is something that I enjoy more out of a hunt than making a shot.

 

[Weedy]

A stranger broke into your house with a gun. The threat of being potentially harmed is there, and you do not have to wait until that harm materializes to defend yourself, your family, and your home.

I understand that you could not bring yourself to kill a coyote because it looks like a dog, but many of us do so that you have deer to hunt when the season comes around.

Someone breaking into your house is quite a bit different than a coyote sniffing around out in the woods. I mean, people can have malicious intent, they can be evil. Coyotes are just trying to find food, they are not capable of evil.

So we kill coyotes to have more deer to hunt, we kill wolves to have more moose and caribou, and we kill sea lions so we have more salmon to catch. How is it that we as humans feel we have the right to kill other species because they are trying to eat their natural prey? We have other food choices (most of us), they do not. And don't try to tell me about animals in the wild killing each other over food, it's not the same thing. And humans do not hold dominion over all animals on earth, that's just something people say as an excuse for factory farming and unnecessary animal suffering.

I really wish folks would stop with the "granola muncher", "troll", and "tree hugger" insults. You can and are making a convincing enough argument without the need such childishnesh. I'm now convinced enough to do more research but others, who you may alienate with rudeness, are more likely to become more stubborn.

+1000000 Mike1234567. Aren't all hunters kind of tree huggers? Are there any hunters that want less trees? I love trees, I love granola, and I don't like drowning puppies, so I guess I am a tree-hugging liberal socialist troll, according to the logic of some.

 

[allaroundhunter]

So we kill coyotes to have more deer to hunt, we kill wolves to have more moose and caribou, and we kill sea lions so we have more salmon to catch. How is it that we as humans feel we have the right to kill other species because they are trying to eat their natural prey? We have other food choices (most of us), they do not. And don't try to tell me about animals in the wild killing each other over food, it's not the same thing. And humans do not hold dominion over all animals on earth, that's just something people say as an excuse for factory farming and unnecessary animal suffering.

If we did not manage the coyote population, you would not get meat for your hamburger....

And yes, actually we do hold dominion over animals, it says so in the bible:
Genesis 1:26

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."