This commentary is by Jane Fitzwilliam, a resident of Putney and the coalition lead for vermontcoyote.org.
In Vermont, coyotes are subject to hunting 365 days a year. Coyotes are killed anytime, day or night, using high-tech game-calling devices and thermal night scopes, oftentimes by brutal methods.
We’ve seen photos posted by Vermont hunters displaying dead coyote pups strung from utility poles, whole families nailed to trees, coyotes mauled by hunting hounds, and other harrowing images.
Coyote hunting standards should be fair, and brought into the 21st century. But Vermont Fish & Wildlife continues to put its head in the sand and promotes the status quo.
Thanks, in part, to wildlife advocacy organizations like the Vermont Coyote Coexistence Coalition, the Humane Society of the United States, and Protect Our Wildlife, Vermont enacted a ban on wanton waste last year. Unfortunately, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife commissioner did not support including coyotes that are hunted in the wanton waste ban. He did, however, mention an interest in pursuing discussions to limit the coyote hunting season. But that was merely lip service.
Based on the commissioner’s purported interest in a limited coyote season, in March 2022, the Vermont Coyote Coexistence Coalition submitted a petition to Vermont Fish & Wildlife for a limited season on coyotes, taking pup-rearing into consideration. It’s important to note that even if Vermont had a limited coyote-hunting season, landowners would still have the right to kill coyotes year-round if they were causing problems under title 10 §4828.
Over a year later, Vermont Fish & Wildlife denied our request. The reasoning: Killing coyotes 365 days a year does not impact their population. Ethics and science be damned.
The best science available informs us that killing coyotes does not reduce their overall population and may, in fact, cause increased breeding. Problems arise with surviving coyotes when the pack’s delicate social hierarchy is impacted if the mated pair (alphas) are killed. The open season causes problems with coyotes and humans because of pack disruption. The current open season leaves pups orphaned every year and greatly contributes to wanton waste.
This wanton killing is emblematic of a Fish & Wildlife Department and Board that remain unconcerned with animal welfare and promoting hunting ethics. Most animals have hunting seasons out of consideration for birthing and nursing mothers, but not coyotes. That is simply immoral.
A common refrain that we hear from the most misinformed is that coyotes are vermin or invasive. We routinely hear Vermont sportsmen say “kill ’em all” or “the only good coyote is a dead coyote,” and other commentary that conveys total disrespect for these social, intelligent and ecologically vital animals. That kind of rhetoric is largely due to Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s betrayal of these animals — it has tacitly labeled coyotes as worthless.
The department is aware of how horribly coyotes are treated and how badly they are maligned and misunderstood. This slideshow is just a small sampling of the extreme cruelties inflicted upon coyotes in Vermont.
Coyote hounding, a recreation that is not only antithetical to good science but also tramples on Vermonters’ property rights, is yet another failure by Vermont Fish & Wildlife. During last year’s legislative session, Act 165 was passed, which forced Vermont Fish & Wildlife to regulate coyote hounding. Not surprising, the department squandered the chance for real change and stayed as close to the status quo as humanly possible.
Hounders are still allowed to leave out bait piles to attract coyotes. They can run their dogs miles away from the hounders and, as long as the hounds are wearing GPS and shock collars, they’re considered “under control.” They still allow multiple dogs to chase and kill coyotes.
The only path forward now, for any meaningful wildlife protection, is with legislation. While Vermont Fish & Wildlife remains stuck in the 1950s, our wildlife continues to suffer unthinkable cruelties and wanton killing.