Utah wants to kill coyotes – Usual rubbish logic applied

More Elkonomics, this time from Utah
May 2012. According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), "A new effort is underway to help mule deer in Utah". Now, given that more than 85,000 male deer are legally shot by hunters every year in Utah, you might have thought that the obvious way to ‘help mule deer' would be to reduce this number. But, in another classic case of Elkonomics, UDWR are offering a $50 reward for killing coyotes.

The effort is called the Predator-Control Incentive program. The program has one goal: To reduce and control the number of coyotes in areas in Utah that are inhabited by mule deer.

Cruel targeting of coyote with pups
The UDWR give advice on when to most effectively target Coyote. The basis of their advice is to target coyote with pups, so that it isn't just the coyote that is killed that dies, the pups won't survive either, presumably because they will starve to death.

UDWR website advises "Breaking up pairs in April is important because breaking the pairs up makes it difficult for the remaining adult to successfully raise a litter of pups. May and June are also important months to remove coyotes, especially those that are raising pups. Removing coyotes during this time period reduces the number of coyotes that are on the landscape before fawns are born and during the time the fawns are being born."

The basis of this programme is that, so hunters can have more fun (and UDWR more cash) hunting mule deer, they need to kill coyote that are hunting for food, and starve their pups. It just isn't fair that that coyote want to eat; they are spoiling hunter's fun.


Continued: http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/utah-coyote.html