This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Animals still need your help.

A potentially devastating new bill has been introduced in Ohio that would transfer coyote “management” decision-making authority to the state legislature, which is heavily influenced by trophy hunting and agricultural interests. This change would make it virtually impossible to ban wildlife-killing contests and impossible to protect coyotes at all.

If passed, House Bill 553 would strip the Ohio Division of Wildlife of all authority to protect our state's coyotes from blood sports like wildlife killing contests and year-round coyote hunting and trapping. Ohio's wildlife professionals and scientists would have no choice but to hand coyote management decisions over to a legislature that is full of rancher and trophy hunter cronies. Help us keep wildlife experts in key decision-making roles to save Ohio’s coyotes! 

Year-round hunting and trapping of coyotes do not prevent or resolve conflicts with them. Gruesome wildlife killing contests reward participants with cash and prizes for violently killing innocent animals, and serve no management purpose whatsoever. These heartless contests promote slaughtering the most or largest coyotes by luring them into firing range with electronic calling devices that imitate the cry of prey or pups in distress.

Scientists and wildlife experts agree that hunting and killing contests do not protect farmed animals or increase deer and turkey populations for hunters. Their voices must remain part of Ohio’s decision-making process or coyotes will suffer painful and deadly fates.

This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Animals still need your help.