{"id":6482,"date":"2012-11-02T03:55:46","date_gmt":"2012-11-02T09:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=6482"},"modified":"2026-02-19T10:18:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T16:18:20","slug":"an-estimated-400000-coyotes-are-killed-a-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/11\/02\/an-estimated-400000-coyotes-are-killed-a-year\/","title":{"rendered":"An Estimated 400,000 Coyotes Are Killed A Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was going to do a post on how Coyotes look through out the year, in their sleek summer coats, fluffy winter coats and show how they look when they are shedding and starting to grow their winter coats. But I got ticked off.\u00a0I’m going to use the images I had edited for the post I had planned for this one.<\/p>\n

I saw “coyote hunting utah” come up as a search term on my blog two days ago which probably led the searcher to my post Farmington Utah’s Voles\u00a0– Just My Opinion<\/a><\/span>, an article I wrote about a vole irruption here in Utah and how people wanted to use outdoor cats and poisons to control them and how I feel that we are destroying the natural balance by not allowing natural predators such as the Coyote to control pests instead of using poisons.<\/p>\n

How the Governor of Utah recently approved raising the bounty on Coyotes from $20.00 to $50.00 per pair of ears to “protect” the Mule Deer population and “tourism”. It is a long post, too much to explain right now.<\/p>\n

\"CoyoteCoyote starting to get its winter coat – Notice the longer “ruff” of fur on the upper back and neck<\/span><\/p>\n

After seeing those search terms I did a Google image search myself using “Coyote hunting Utah” and sure enough in the fourth row I see one of my Coyote images. My photo showed up because I mentioned in the post that the Coyote was “hunting” prey.<\/p>\n

Then I changed the key words to just “coyote hunting<\/a><\/span>” and as I scrolled through the images I felt a horrible revulsion caused by the images that showed up.<\/p>\n

One photo shows 66 dead Coyotes hung from the window frames of a school bus, great lesson for kids, huh? Images of rows of Coyotes with the guns in the frame that killed them. Guys and women in camo standing or kneeling next to more dead Coyotes. Dead Coyotes strung over barbed wire fences, the likes of which I have seen myself here in Utah. Photos of live Coyotes being torn apart by dogs\u00a0and a quote from article article that made my blood boil:<\/p>\n

They hunt coyotes from the weekend after deer season to \u201cwhen the grass turns green,\u201d Stanifer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stop then to let them raise their young,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It is my opinion that they only<\/em><\/strong> stop to let them raise their young so they have more Coyotes to slaughter in the fall.<\/p>\n

Then a really gruesome image of hundreds of Coyote pelts covering at least<\/em> two sides of a two-story barn or granary and part of the roof here<\/a><\/span> with the caption below it saying “Kinda scary”. \u00a0Kinda? That is an understatement.<\/em> And that caption is on a hunting web site.<\/p>\n

\"CoyoteCoyote in its winter coat<\/span><\/p>\n

I was sickened by those images that I saw when I did that Google search. Then yesterday I saw a link on Facebook to a blog post about\u00a0Wildlife Abuse at the Hands of a Federal Agent – UPDATED<\/a><\/span>\u00a0where a (self-professed) federal Wildlife Services agent stands by and watches his dogs rip a live Coyote to shreds then kneels by the carcass for a photograph.<\/p>\n

This is insanity.<\/p>\n

I did a search on Google for “How many Coyotes are killed a year” and found an archived article on Audubon Magazine (which I consider a reliable source) \u00a0by Mike Finkle titled “The Ultimate Survivor” where he mentions that over 400,000 Coyotes are killed a year by hunters, coyote killing contests, Wildlife Services actions, state, local and private agencies.<\/p>\n

Some studies have shown that this type of “control” is ineffective and that even though Coyotes have been relentlessly persecuted they have proven to be extremely resilient and that when the Coyote population is reduced those that do survive have more food and more pups reach adulthood. The article is old, those numbers are probably higher now.<\/p>\n

\"CoyoteCoyote starting to lose its winter coat – Note the sleek, smooth fur on the face<\/span><\/p>\n

After reading the blog post above I did a search on Facebook for “Coyote Hunters” and the list for \u00a0Coyote Hunters grew and grew until I just closed out of Facebook, it was that disgusting. I’m not sure I want to do anymore Google searches on “Coyote hunting”.<\/p>\n

\"CoyoteCoyote in its summer coat<\/span><\/p>\n

For anyone interested in Coyote hunting reading this post you won’t find any help as to where, when or how to do that on this blog, when I write about Coyote hunting is it about a Coyote HUNTING for its food. Got it?<\/p>\n

For 100 years Coyotes have been hunted to “control” their population and during that 100 years Coyotes have expanded their range and their population numbers have increased. I’ve read that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.<\/p>\n

Isn’t it time the insanity about Coyotes<\/span><\/a> stopped?<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to view more of my Coyote photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For anyone interested in Coyote hunting reading this post you won’t find any help as to where, when or how to do that on this blog, when I write about Coyote hunting is it about a Coyote HUNTING for its food. Got it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":169626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,2152,100,1022,26,43],"tags":[733,4002,1945,3347,4035,4032],"class_list":["post-6482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-conservation","category-coyotes","category-davis-county-utah","category-utah","category-wildlife-ethics","tag-canis-latrans","tag-coyote","tag-coyote-hunting","tag-coyotes","tag-nature-photography","tag-wildlife-photography"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/coyote-winter-coat-mia-mcpherson-4208.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1Gy","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6119,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/09\/15\/coyote-in-a-hilltop\/","url_meta":{"origin":6482,"position":0},"title":"Coyote On A Hilltop","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"From all appearances the Coyotes (Canis latrans) on Antelope Island State Park are starting to put on their winter coats, they sure are getting fluffy.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Coyote on a hilltop, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/coyote-hilltop-mia-mcpherson-5747.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/coyote-hilltop-mia-mcpherson-5747.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/coyote-hilltop-mia-mcpherson-5747.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/coyote-hilltop-mia-mcpherson-5747.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3387,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/10\/25\/coyote-in-the-grasses-of-antelope-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":6482,"position":1},"title":"Coyote In The Grasses Of Antelope Island","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 25, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Last month I spotted this Coyote in the golden light of dawn while it hunted in the grasses on Antelope Island State Park. With light so sweet, how could I resist?","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Coyote on a rock just after sunrise, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/coyote-golden-light-mia-mcpherson-4916.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/coyote-golden-light-mia-mcpherson-4916.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/coyote-golden-light-mia-mcpherson-4916.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/coyote-great-salt-lake-1-mia-mcpherson-1783.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/coyote-great-salt-lake-1-mia-mcpherson-1783.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/coyote-great-salt-lake-1-mia-mcpherson-1783.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/coyote-great-salt-lake-1-mia-mcpherson-1783.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6573,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/11\/13\/coyote-in-the-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":6482,"position":3},"title":"Coyote In The Snow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"While looking for birds to photograph I spotted a pair of Coyotes hunting and roaming through the snow-covered landscape together.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wintry day Coyote, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/coyote-snow-utah-mia-mcpherson-9075.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/coyote-snow-utah-mia-mcpherson-9075.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/coyote-snow-utah-mia-mcpherson-9075.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I was excited and delighted to spot and photograph a coyote running on the ice of the Great Salt Lake a few days ago in the golden light just after dawn.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Coyote running on ice, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/coyote-running-ice-mia-mcpherson-5700.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/coyote-running-ice-mia-mcpherson-5700.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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