Reprinted from a Dec 17, 2006 column in the Morgantown Dominion Post
As a wildlife student at Pennsylvania State University in the early 1960's I learned that paying bounties to encourage hunters and trappers to harvest more predators just didn’t work. Recently Preston County initiated a modest bounty program that would eliminate 45 coyotes. This program was initiated for the same reason all coyote control programs are initiated ... farmer losses of sheep, cattle, and other livestock.
Before looking at bounty programs, let’s get some background information on coyote reproduction. Between 60 and 90 percent of all adult female coyotes produce litters. Some juvenile female coyotes also produce litters. Like all dogs, the coyote gestation period is 63 days, and litter sizes average around 5-6 pups.
As we know, mortality of all wildlife is high that first year after birth. The same is true for coyotes, as they have a first year mortality of 60 percent. To maintain a stable population you need a net survival of about 33-38 percent. Clearly in West Virginia survival has been higher than that over the past twenty years, as coyotes have expanded into our state. However, it is likely that the population will stabilize, and in many areas it has probably done that.
Before moving to the bounty idea, let me address one topic that seems to come up whenever a group of hunters gather. As coyotes moved into West Virginia from Pennsylvania (and that is where we got our coyotes. They spread east through Ohio into northern Pennsylvania, then south into Maryland and West Virginia) we heard hunters suggest that the DNR released them to kill deer. This is such a ridiculous claim that it doesn’t deserve a response. Why would Pennsylvania or West Virginia wildlife agencies introduce coyotes to kill deer, when hunter license dollars are needed to pay their bills, and deer hunters are a major part of that system?
First, know that there were coyotes in Pennsylvania in the 1940's. Not many, but they were there. The idea that a game agency released coyotes began in Pennsylvania in the late 80's after a coyote pup that was ear-tagged by a conservation officer was shot by a deer hunter. That pup was initially caught in Greene County on a farm where coyotes had been killing sheep. A radio collar was placed on that puo, then he was released in hopes that they could find the den. However, that pup lost the collar right away, then was shot a few months later by a deer hunter. From there the rumor mill began. No matter what you hear, neither the Pennsylvania wildlife agency nor the West Virginia wildlife agency has ever released coyotes. Responsible hunters just don’t spread such rumors.
We do know that coyotes kill animals to live. And they obviously kill some domesticated livestock. When that happens, farmers complain as one might understand, and people take actions to lower coyote numbers. Offering a bounty for killing coyotes is one option. Its been used in the past, and it is still used even though it has not proven to be particularly effective.
Bounties are not just offered to reduce predators. Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi offer a bounty for dead beavers. It is doubtful that these states followed through with such payments, but the bounty option is on the books. Heck, Pennsylvania passed a bill in 1955 to pay $1 for every dead rattlesnake and copperhead turned in. They also enacted a bounty of 50 cents for porcupines. The last activity on this dumb bounty was in 1972, so we don’t have to worry about it.
Several states, or counties within states, offer a bounty for dead coyotes. South Dakota had a $5 bounty starting in 1939, but the last activity was 1998. However, they have a new bill being contemplated that would pay $20 for every coyote taken, statewide. Wyoming had a $20 bounty on coyotes and in one county they took 475 coyotes ($9500) in 2 months. Local farmers were happy. Virginia has a bounty that local counties can implement. Several counties in southwestern Virginia utilize the bounty including Pulaski County that offers $50 for all female adults taken.
In 2000 Utah introduced a coyote bounty program putting up $200,000 in response to farmer complaints. The conclusion of that bounty system was that "the program did not produce the desired results, in terms of either increasing hunter participation or reducing coyote populations."
The Department of Agriculture states that over 21,000 lambs and sheep were killed by coyotes in 2001 in the United States. There is no doubt that some Preston County farmers are suffering some losses. Obviously eliminating 45 coyotes will not impact coyotes or the domestic animal losses in Preston County. However, if hunters and trappers would focus on the farms where losses are occurring, then farmer losses would probably decrease. However, such control efforts would need to focus on individual coyotes and individual farms every year in order to prevent farmer losses. Random coyote removal will not impact the coyotes or sheep predation by coyotes.
The bounty system implemented in Preston County might serve to create publicity and cause more hunters to hunt coyotes once deer season is over. That might help farmers, but again, only if those hunters took coyotes on the farms suffering losses.
Studies in Utah show that "most harvesting of bountied coyotes was done by people seeking a positive outdoor experience" rather than making money. Thus, if a farmer is suffering some losses from coyotes, they will be better served to seek out coyotes hunters to come to their farm, rather than implement a bounty system that probably won’t have much impact.
