Government Predator Control via Our Taxes

[tomstopper]

Just appalling. I find this way of eradicating predators unethical & cruel. Don't get me wrong, I dislike coyotes as well but this is not the way they should be dealt with. Whats more appalling is that yours & my tax dollars help support/fund this. I am sure they could find enough willing hunters to dispatch these animals in a more humane way. Just disturbing... 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/12/animal-torture-abuse-called-regular-practice-within-federal-wildlife-agency/

[lightsoutcalls]

I understand your frustration and don't like the idea of having dogs attack a trapped animal.  However, if you allow hunters on your land, you just accepted liability for them if they get hurt, or worse, killed in the process. 
The idea of the phosphorus bomb where it would work sounds like a fairly quick, effective method of getting rid of a litter. 

Sometimes the methods aren't pretty, but effective nonetheless. 

[tomstopper]

I understand your frustration and don't like the idea of having dogs attack a trapped animal.  However, if you allow hunters on your land, you just accepted liability for them if they get hurt, or worse, killed in the process. 
The idea of the phosphorus bomb where it would work sounds like a fairly quick, effective method of getting rid of a litter. 

Sometimes the methods aren't pretty, but effective nonetheless.

I understand your point about it being a liability but then again if you own livestock and the land, then isn't it your responsibility to get rid of the predators. Maybe I am wrong but the way I was raised was that if you kill something you eat it or use it. What ever happened to respecting all of Gods creatures. I was also taught that you try to kill that animal in the most humane way possible. I don't mean to sound harsh nor am I trying to get an argument started here. I just don't feel like it should be up to the taxpayers to fund this type of practice. Why cant the government just trap them (along with checking them daily) and then dispatching them with a firearm. I look at it from the point of view that if any of us released dogs onto a group of trapped animals, or let them starve b/c we didn't check our traps, then we would face all types of charges but now its OK b/c the government are the ones doing it. There are many factors that I see wrong with their methods. Basically I just feel that we as a nation are becoming more & more demoralized each day and this is just another example of how much so.

[lightsoutcalls]

I'm with you on your last post. 

I do think a landowner should be responsible for taking care of nuisance animals on their own property.  I've never owned acreage or farmland, so I haven't had to deal with such an issue.  I am trying to help a landowner get rid of some feral hogs, but to me that is more of a meat hunt, and I look forward to putting them down as quickly as possible. 

I got to hunt predators on a high fence ranch several years ago.  That landowner was losing money when coyotes and bobcats were killing his goat and sheep babies.  Each of those babies would have been a hunt that would have sold for $400-$1200.  That adds up pretty quick, so I can see where I might call in a state agency set up to deal with predators in such a situation.  I know the agency in OK where he is located hunted the yotes from helicopter, used snares and cyanide bombs to try to get rid of them.  Over a 7 month period, they killed 4 coyotes.  On our 1 day hunt we took out 1 coyote.  We didn't do so bad comparitively.

[Neill_Prater]

Disturbing article, to say the least. I really do not understand the point in allowing the dogs to kill coyotes held in traps. I'm not condeming the killing of the yotes, just the method. Inexpensive 22 bullets would have been just as effective, and far more humane.

[Improvinghunter101]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure the landowner would not have any liability if he just allowed some hunters on his property to hunt whatever.  When the landowner accepts liability is when he accepts money for the hunt such as leasing the property.

[lightsoutcalls]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure the landowner would not have any liability if he just allowed some hunters on his property to hunt whatever.  When the landowner accepts liability is when he accepts money for the hunt such as leasing the property.

I'm not an attorney, so I can't quote you legal precedents, but I believe a landowner is liable for harm or damages that might come to an individual while on the landowner's property.  I asked an older gentleman if I could pick up some pears that had dropped from his trees to use to attract game animals for pictures.  He quickly told me that his attorney had told him not to allow anyone on his property for fear they might sue him if they twisted an ankle, etc.  I have also heard of tresspassers suing a landowner for injury they received while tresspassing.  Just another reason why more land is posted these days. 

[Ded Goblr]

The deer herds have been being decimated for many years in the western states by predators mainly coyotes. Much of the land is blm and national forest, gov. trappers have been around for a hundred years and the coyote population continues to grow. The huggers have taken trapping rights away from the public in several states. Sight hounds have become a common tool for predator control. It is not pretty, but is effective. I don't know the particulars in the fox photo, but don't allow yourself to be manipulated by a photo. This is a tactic used often by the antis to gain public support, the very tactic used to take trappers rights away in Colo.

[MOStrutter]

Very well said Ded Goblr.  Trappers have lost a lot of privileges and it is quickly becoming a lost art.  It is common practice to use dogs around here for coyote hunting and if you don't let your dogs get on a coyote or two throughout the season then they lose their drive to run miles at a time only to see a coyote get thrown in the bed of the truck and on to the next one.  This guy went about it the wrong way and had pictures end up on facebook.  It has been in the news for awhile but keeps being brought up for some reason.  I wouldn't call this common practice with trappers in the least and this guy did put a blemish on the trapping community.