Why I'm voting to legalize shooting coyotes from snowmobiles

In related news, "South Dakota among fattest states." http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2010/08/10/us-obesity-rates-by-state

Any idiot would know animal don't kill for fun, only we do. Any lawmaker who's going to support, write or advocate for a bill should do research and fact finding. It's been proven over and over that killing coyotes only produce more coyotes. You cannot cull these animals out of existence. There are many ways farmers can protect their livestock without ever having to kill a coyote, yet only a few (the ones that are educated and actually care about the living things outside their fence lines) have done so and with great success. Do your homework and don't vote for something that's just going to cause more problems later.

John - I'm curious what fuels your anger and cheap insults? My comment on "fun" was in jest - feel free to explain here why they will kill an entire flock of sheep and leave them lay. It isn't hunger. How are you connected to this issue? And explain to me how killing coyotes produces more coyotes - would have loved to hear you testify to that in Committee. Have you been to SD because it's sounds like you are unaware the terrain and the variety of ways ranchers are trying to deal with this problem and how they are asking for more tools at their disposal. How do you suggest these ranchers protect their livestock from packs of coyotes that have multiplied like mice? Please don't tell me fences. You have til Monday to influence my vote.

The picture of the Indian shooting Buffalo to eat and survive off of, is in no way connected to running an animal till it cannot run anymore and then to run it over with a snowmobile is a very tasteless way to treat any animal. Man is suppose to have a brain and be evolved over other animals.
I cannot beleive that a Rep. of the South Dakota Legislature and a Religious Leader such as yourself, would think like this and even worse would put it on your website. Then to top it off you have a link to the actual dirty deed?
If you think myself and your other voters want or will accept something like this happening, you are wrong!
I urge you to vote No….
I am a hunter, Sportsmen and one of your people you are suppose to be representing.

I think what John may have been suggesting is: there is significant evidence that coyote populations grow when the population is stressed. Litters of pups range from 4 - 11, and female under stress from whatever reason - lack of food, disease, hunting, whatever - appear to produce larger litters.

If you google coyote reproduction under stress you will come up with some info like http://hal_macgregor.tripod.com/kennel/wolves.html

Also, coyotes are territorial. If you eliminate a population within an area you make room for another population to come in. Revolving door of sorts.

And no, I don't think John's testimony would have been welcomed in Committee. I have been regaled with stories from legislators about running coyotes down with their snowmobiles - because I happened to mention my grandfather had ranched in Faith so it was "safe" to talk in front of me.

I would also bet that after a couple of years - if it takes that long - coyote populations will be back up to where they were before this snowmobile solution was enacted, and a couple of guys will have shot themselves, their kids or their neighbors.

Actually, death is only one answer: http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/stopping_wolves_from_killing_livestock_could_be_as_simple_as_an_electrified/C41/L41/

If you're the one voting, shouldn't you do the fact finding? Do you normally vote on things without knowing as much as you can about the issue? I'm not angered, nor am I throwing cheap insults. What's insulting is how we, as a race first turn to annihilating animals before we put an ounce of understanding into them. Do you know why coyotes have become so prevalent? I'm guessing no, so I'll tell you; we virtually wiped out wolves, which in turn opened all that territory and food resources to coyotes which filled the niche we provided. We mess with ecology and the balance of nature and then complain when it readjusts. I'm not anti hunter or a tree hugger, I just hate when we always seem to blast away at anything we don't understand. Donkeys and Lamas have proven to be great flock defenders, as well as farmers cleaning up the still and afterbirths. Take a look at this website: http://www.projectcoyote.org/ there's a biologist, (Chris Schadler, MS, MA - New England Representative & Wild Canid Ecologist) While wolf recovery was the focus of her early work, Chris’ attention shifted to the eastern coyote when she moved to New England. She chose a farm with known coyote problems to raise sheep and train her border collies. Using sound livestock management and common sense, she has avoided any predation for nearly two decades. A peaceful co-existence between coyote and livestock has grown an attentive audience for humane management. Want or desire more information? Just ask and I'll be happy to oblige..

Rev, call Kevin Woster. Go on Dakota Midday. You might be the lynch-pin.

More info: This is skewed toward urban populations, but it is fully cited. And "human sources" of food may also include domesticated sheep.

http://www.rockies.ca/coyotes/ecology.php

Impact of Lethal Control

While there is a segment of urban and rural residents that would like to see coyotes eradicated, lethal control is not universally accepted - it is neither socially palatable nor practical in urban settings, due to conflicting human values and the safety risks associated with shooting, trapping or poisoning (Gibbs 2001, Gehrt 2004). More critically, extermination efforts have been proven ecologically damaging, as coyotes provide a valuable role in keeping prey populations in check, such as rodents and geese (Chew 2005, Fox and Papouchis 2005). Moreover, extermination efforts are largely ineffective (McKinney 2002, Bekoff and Gese 2003): Coyotes will change their activity patterns, social structure and breeding behaviours when persecuted (Kitchen et al. 2000, Fox and Papouchis 2005). The table below shows that killing coyotes leads to break down of social structure of packs (i.e. with high human-caused mortality shown in column one below, the average group size declines, age of individuals and reproduction rises, and more pups survive.)

This means that when we kill coyotes in larger numbers, we actually promote more coyotes being born and develop a population of coyotes that may lack natural instincts. When this type of population also becomes habituated to human food sources, they can lose their fear of people and become problem animals.

I do appreciate the input everyone and this is a sampling of the type of emails I mentioned in my post - part of my point in the post was that this bill has stirred an amazing amount of emotion on each side - that is evident here.

I'm making a decision on landowners shooting coyotes from stationary snowmobiles, not whether or not one should shoot coyotes as a means of predator control. It's already legal to shoot away, from planes, trucks, ATV's - but if you swap out the wheels for skis under that ATV it's illegal. If you all want to see legislation next year prohibiting shooting coyotes you'll have to call your rep and see if he/she will sponsor it. Go for it. Maybe I won't toss out this file I developed on this issue.

John - I looked at the co-existing website the other day when someone sent me the link. How do coyotes and sheep do together? They are costing landowners lots of money.

Hymie- read the bill. It has nothing to do with running over coyotes. I posted the youtube and the pic and made comments on them because I get feedback that people appreciate reading and seeing the things that I'm seeing and consider before voting.

Coyotes and sheep do just fine together, provided the sheep/land owner is willing to participate in trying. From domestic dogs to Lamas and donkeys and even simple harassment techniques have proven records. I read last year from a coyote research group in Rhode Island that their research showed that livestock farmers who took the time to collect and bury all livestock losses (natural causes), still births, etc. etc. had almost zero coyote predation on their stock. In fact, the farmers were happy to see the coyotes preying on rabbits, rats and mice on the farm! Simple housekeeping made a difference. There are many livestock farmers out there who have been farming among coyote populations with no livestock losses. Again, a little education and effort and people and predatores coexist just fine!

Steve:
With all do respect, you should read the Bill, since it was Amended in House Ag. it includes the word pursue, which means you can chase, harass and if you do not choose to stop your snowmobile and shoot the coyote you simply run it over.
Perhaps you should ask the GF&P how many complaints they try to investigate that includes snowmobiles and the running over of coyotes and harassing wildlife? These complaints are now when it is illegal to do either, just think if you allow one segment of society to do this?
If you had done your research you would of discovered that it is not legal for a normal person to hunt from an aircraft
only APHIS who now runs the predator program and special licensed predator control pilots and shooters are legal.
It is legal to shoot from a vehicle it is not legal on a 4 -wheeler.

Hymie - o please, trust me I've read the bill many times, carefully. Go back up and read the paragraph I wrote write before the native/buffalo picture. You'll see this sentence…

"Another amendment will come Monday proposing to delete the pursuit language in line 10 - that amendment would make this an even better bill. "

The history of the pursuit language is that Game Fish and Parks wanted that line in there, and now they changed their mind because of the concerns it raises about chasing coyotes to exhaustion. Those working this bill through tell me the words "pursued by snowmobiles and" will be amended back out on the House floor Monday. It would then just read… "except that coyotes may be pursued by snowmobiles and taken by a landowner or lessee on the landowner's property by shooting from stationary snowmobiles…"

Hymie - I have looked at existing statutes and to my knowledge my statements are factual. Here are the statutes that contradict your earlier statement about airplaces and ATVs.

A landowner can use an aircraft…

41-8-39.1. Aerial hunting of coyotes and fox by occupier of land where loss of animals threatened http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Statute=41-8-39.1&Type=Statute

A landowner can use an ATV for coyotes…

41-8-37. Hunting from motor vehicle prohibited–Exceptions–Promulgation of rules–Misdemeanor. No person, who is in or on a motor vehicle, may discharge a firearm or bow and arrow at any wild animals except coyotes, jackrabbits, rodents, skunks, badgers, raccoons, and foxes.

This statute deals only with landowners…

32-30-6.6. Carrying firearm on motorcycle or off-road vehicle–Exception for holder of concealed pistol permit or disabled hunter permit–Enforcement–Violation as misdemeanor. No person, other than a law enforcement officer or conservation officer, or any person on the person's own land or land leased by the person, may operate or ride on any motorcycle or off-road vehicle with any firearm in the person's possession unless the firearm is completely unloaded and within a carrying case which encloses the entire firearm. However, this section does not apply to any person who is carrying a pistol and possesses a permit to carry a concealed pistol issued pursuant to chapter 23-7. This section does not apply to any person who holds a permit issued pursuant to § 41-8-37 while engaged in hunting from an off-road vehicle in accordance with the provisions of the permit. This section shall be enforced by all law enforcement officers including conservation officers. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

Interesting stuff john Mag - again you should find a friend here in the state to put forth a law and see how far you get with a ban on coyote shooting. Again the point of this law is about doing what is now permissible, only from a stationary snowmobile.

I just got home from the Capital last night and my wife tells me we had 8 coyotes here in our yard - good thing the horses were in the barn and the chickens were in the coop. Will a donkey keep them away from my free range chickens in the summer? My domestic dogs are inside at night in both winter and summer.

Larry!!! You are from South Dakota, are you not? Or Montana? I can't remember. Regardless. Are you serious with this link about little electric fences with flags 18 inches from the ground. These things wouldn't last 10 days in a SD winter wind, they'd be shorted out and buried in the first 2 inch snowstorm that buries the fence in two foot drifts. And again we are talking about vast areas of land, vast - as in ten mile stretches. How much would the fence cost for each rancher?

[…] It may still be winter but you can get your kayak on. And if winter (and blood) are more your style you may soon be able to shoot coyotes from snowmobiles. […]

A couple updates - SB55 passed in the House 47-21 with the pursuit language amended out.

Here's a couple stats from testimony on the House floor…. Game Fish and Parks had 1300 coyote complaints, spent $600,000 on this problem, killed 4000 coyotes and still there are serious problems with coyotes killing gamebirds and deer.

On a lighter note - not all emails to me on this issue were serious. This came this morning…

Coyote - why I love South Dakota
California
The Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks the Governor's dog, then bites the Governor.

1. The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie "Bambi" and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is only doing what is natural.

2. He calls animal control . Animal Control captures the coyote and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.

3. He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases.

4. The Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting his bite wound bandaged.

5. The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while Fish & Game conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now free of dangerous animals.

6. The Governor spends $50,000 in state funds implementing a "coyote awareness program" for residents of the area.

7. The State Legislature spends $2 million to study how to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease throughout the world.

8. The Governor's security agent is fired for not stopping the attack. The State spends $150,000 to hire and train a new agent with additional special training re: the nature of coyotes.

9. PETA protests the coyote's relocation and files a $5 million suit against the State.
South Dakota

The Governor of South Dakota is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A Coyote jumps out and attacks his dog. 1. The Governor shoots the coyote with his State-issued pistol and keeps jogging. The Governor has spent $0.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge.

2. The Buzzards eat the dead coyote. And that, my friends, is why California is broke and South Dakota is not.

In a related story: Eastern cougar extinct.