Seen this on our local news website. Close call.

Nevada board rejects proposal to ban coyote killing contests
A Nevada state regulatory board has narrowly voted against banning contests that give cash or other awards to hunters for killing coyotes.
Saturday, November 6th 2021, 12:30 PM MDT
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada state regulatory board has narrowly voted against banning contests that give cash or other awards to hunters for killing coyotes.

The regulation was rejected by the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commission on a 5-4 vote Friday. It would have prohibited organizing, promoting or participating in contests or other competitions to capture or kill coyotes or other predatory or furbearing animals.

“What are we regulating?” questioned Commissioner Tom Barnes. “They’re really not doing anything illegal.”

All 16 advisory panels to the nine-member board supported continuing to allow the contest, the Reno Gazette Journal reported.

Commissioner David McNinch, who introduced the language to end the competitions, said outlawing the events wasn't a biological issue but a response to changing societal views on sportsmanship.

“I fully support people protecting their livestock, their pets, their family. … I just disagree that the best way to do it is through these contests,” he said. “It’s not the act of killing the coyotes that bothers me, it’s how it’s done.”

Board Chair Tiffany East said that at least one state legislator has written to the board saying that that, if the board failed to take action, lawmakers will consider the issue during their next session.

Conservationists had hoped that political pressure and other states banning the contests would prompt the commission to vote differently.

While some states offer bounties for coyotes to control their population, coyote killing contests have been banned in at least eight states since 2014, including Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico,

In Nevada, the Clark County Commission and the Reno City Council have approved resolutions asking the competitions be banned, but the Elko County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed one supporting the continuation of coyote hunting contests.

“Eliminating ‘killing contests’ would be the camel’s nose under the tent that could eventually threaten such wholesome family events like fishing derbies,” according to the Elko County resolution.

During the past fiscal year, coyotes were responsible for deaths or injuries to 253 cattle, 82 domestic fowl, 330 goats, five pets and 596 sheep in Nevada, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Unlike predators such as gray wolves or prey species such as elk, coyotes have no species protections and can be killed without licenses.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

I'm speechless. Shouldn't be a surprise though.

I believe it's also illegal to trap gophers in Seattle.......maybe Washington State.

"Conservationists had hoped that political pressure and other states banning the contests would prompt the commission to vote differently."

Who decided that activists using political pressure rather than any biological data to ban the legal harvest of a sustainable game species should be referred to as "Conservationists"?

The science of conservation has moved hyper speed towards the "go along to get along" mentality since I graduated grad school in 1982.
And it was sketchy back then.

Blessings,
Mark

3veryone better start taking kids hunting, trapping and fishing on a large scale ASAP.. Espically those that will never get any other real world exposure to it.

Just an easy why your State DNR do not have to handle the problem. In Michigan we have around 55,000 car deer accidents' a year, the DNR just tell people to slow down. You can buy a hand full of doe permits this year. JMO.

I have participated in contests in Nevada. Glad cooler heads prevailed.

I've hunted northwestern Nevada AFTER the contest season... and I'll tell you they are either dead or VERY educated.

Pete

This illegal to trap gopher in Western Washington. The only species there is on the states endangered species list.

Government type thinking right there to protect a vermin that your activity trying to keep in check that you can only control but could not eliminate in the last 200 years. LOL

Used to be a place up in the mountains of NC, near here, that had groundhog contests. You went groundhog hunting and brought your biggest one to a local hardware/gas station for weighing. Big sign out front that indicated it was a weigh station for the contest. And I also think there was a total count contest as well. Sure helped control the furry buggers in that county. Haven't been up in that community in a while.

We need to have a TMAN trapping contest in Nevada. Who is game??