Fish and Wildlife Board declines petition to limit coyote hunting

Posted by Wayne G. Barber Photo by Vt.Digger

Devon Craig, of Plainfield, argued against a petition to close the coyote hunting season, saying that coyote populations self-regulate. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger

ONTPELIER — The state’s Fish and Wildlife Board voted against a petition Wednesday night to end the open season on coyotes.

In Vermont and many other states, there’s an open season on coyotes, meaning anyone with a hunting license can kill them at any time of the year.

A group of Vermont Law School students submitted the petition to the Fish and Wildlife Board to close the hunting season from March to October.

Closing the season during spring and summer, when coyote pelts are not valuable, would cut back on “wanton killing” of coyotes, they say.

Cydnee Pence, a Vermont Law School student who co-chairs the Animal Legal Defense Fund, said that the open season impacts coyote family dynamics. Disruption of the social hierarchy of the pack can lead to behavioral problems, such as overagression of younger coyotes, according to the petition.

The state enacted a ban on coyote contests last year, after the bill passed the Legislature and Gov. Phil Scott let it become law without his signature.

“But so long as you don’t call (coyote killing) a contest, it’s OK,” she said.

Some members of the public who spoke in support of the petition during the meeting referred to it as a “compromise” between coyote hunters and animal advocates who oppose coyote hunting entirely.
The department estimates that there are around 7,500 coyotes in Vermont, though that number fluctuates seasonally, with fewer in the winter.

Source:VT.DIGGER