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VICTORY: Man Jailed for Illegally Trapping & Shooting Coyote 13 Times

VICTORY: Man Jailed for Illegally Trapping & Shooting Coyote 13 Times

Last October, we shared the horrific case of animal cruelty involving Lowell Miller, a “wildlife removal specialist” who was caught illegally trapping and shooting a coyote over 13 times in California. We are pleased to update you that his long-awaited sentencing has finally been delivered and that he will be serving time in jail. 

On March 6, 2020, Miller, who was trained by the Humane Wildlife Control Operators in Northern California and owns Lowell’s Wildlife Removal, was filmed while he shot a coyote with an air pistol at Sierra Lakes Golf Club in Fontana, which hired him to remove coyotes from the property.

To capture the coyotes, Miller reportedly set up a possibly illegal leghold trap, which is designed to clamp down on animals' limbs with such incredible force that it tears through their skin, rips apart their muscles, and can even break their bones. Leghold traps were banned in California in 1998.

An unsuspecting coyote was caught by the trap and was shot by Miller at close range for over two minutes with a .22 air pistol, primarily in the skull. Air pistols are not an approved method of humane euthanization for coyotes. The coyote was forced to endure being shot at least 13 times while fully conscious.

A California Fish and Wildlife warden cited Miller for using an illegal trap. He was charged with one count of felony animal cruelty under Penal Code 597(a) which states "...every person who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures, or wounds a living animal, or maliciously and internationally kills an animal, is guilty of a crime..."

On August 4, Miller was sentenced to misdemeanor probation for one count of cruelty to an animal. Miller must serve 120 days, which are eligible for county jail weekend/work release program.

Alongside PETA, Project Coyote, and Wildlife Emergency Services, we worked to raise awareness of this willful case of extreme animal cruelty and abuse. Nearly 11,000 In Defense of Animals supporters  signed our alert urging San Bernadino District Attorney Jason Anderson to convict Miller of felony animal cruelty. It also urged the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to revoke his trapping license.

None of this would have been possible without the compassion and devotion of our kind supporters. Thank you for making calls, signing our alert, and sharing information on social media to call for justice for the innocent coyote who met a brutal, torturous death at the hands of Lowell Miller. Through collective action and persistence, criminal animal abusers like Miller will be held accountable for their unconscionable actions. 

Please consider making a generous donation so that we can continue our work to end animal cruelty. Your gift is fully tax-deductible and will go straight to work saving lives and holding abusers accountable for their crimes.

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