Too Many Coyotes in North Dakota

Image via WikipediaHere is an article that my friend sent me. I have to agree there are way too many coyotes in North Dakota but hunters will have to thin them out if we want that population to go down.

Big Game Hunt --- A recent survey has shown that there are a lot more coyotes then 10 years ago roaming North Dakota. The survey is conducted by mail carriers and hunters with fur bearer licenses. The numbers are almost double in some areas. The weather has had a negative impact on a lot of animals, but the coyotes are healthy and doing fine. They may even be doing better, because they were able to feed off the animals that were suffering from the harsh and long winters.

State senators had proposed a bill to pay a $100 bounty per coyote, for the first 2,000. This was not passed however. Annually around 40,000 coyotes killed, so the 2,000 was not a big number. It did help bring more awareness to the coyote problem though.

Tucker said the intentions of the bill were good, but they were not practical. It might inspire more hunting of coyotes, but it wouldn’t reduce the damage complaints because hunters wouldn’t be required to remove the livestock-damaging animals, she said.