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California Court Approves Ban on Federal Wildlife Poisoning, Trapping
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Category Archives: Coyote
BREAKING DOWN THE COYOTE MATING MEME
If you’re friends with a pet owner, dog walker, or maybe even just someone who’s a fan of clicking the ‘share’ button, you’ve likely seen the post below. It states that coyotes are actively mating, and that they become more aggressive at this time of year. Further, it implies that coyotes will draw dogs to an awaiting pack to kill them.
Where to start?
There is some truth in the post: coyotes are mating this time of year. However, they’re monogamous – so only young coyotes will be seeking a new mate. The gestation period is roughly 60 days, give or take. And loose dogs can come into conflict with coyotes (as well as other wildlife to whom dogs are seen as predators or risks toward). That’s about where the facts of this post end, and the sensationalism and disinformation begin.
This post indicates that an individual coyote will encourage a dog to chase them, then slowly lead them back to a pack (who is waiting for your dog). This is a wildly inaccurate assessment of canine behaviour, both for domestic dogs and for coyotes. What has been documented is dogs chasing or harassing wildlife of all sizes and stripes – loose dogs can pose a major threat to other animals.
Coyotes are naturally curious, and an essential part of their ecosystems. They will watch a dog and determine if they are a threat (that’s the long stare you may hear about). But if chased by a dog, which is what dogs often do, they will return to the safety of their family – just like you would if you were being chased by a predator. At that point, a coyote family may defend themselves, their territory, their den, or a food source from a predator or invader. This is not luring or some form of trickery, but very simple cause and effect initiated by a loose dog chasing wildlife.
Male coyotes do not become more aggressive this time of year. Both coyotes in a mated pair will protect each other, their territory, their resources like food, and their den or pups. The role a dog or human play in this is entirely on humans – not coyotes.
About the picture
This photo is deeply upsetting to those of us who have seen the original photo series. While it may appear to be a coyote attacking a dog and grabbing his collar, the full, uncropped series of images shows a coyote trapped against a fence line by their back leg. Three dogs are attacking and snapping at the coyote (the photo showing a third dog is not shown below due to its graphic nature), and there is evidence that they have bitten them on the hind quarters. This is not a coyote attacking – it is a coyote desperately defending themselves against three dangerous predators and the human who trapped the coyote. This is animal cruelty – and it’s been shared and promoted by unknowing animal lovers across the internet.
If you love animals – be it dogs, coyotes, cats, bears, or even guinea pigs, please consider deleting your share of that original post and sharing this one instead. You can also share this post into the comments of friends who have posted the original meme.
Knowledge is an essential step on the path to compassionate co-existence and co-flourishing, and it starts with you.
This blog was co-authored by Coyote Watch Canada and our friends at The Fur-Bearers.
Coyotes are poised to invade South America. Humans are to blame.
Jan. 9, 2020 at 11:15 a.m. PST
A recent study underscores why: Deforestation in the rainforests of Panama has carved out new routes of passage for the coyote. Before long, the paper’s authors warn, the species could inhabit an entirely new continent — the first wave in what could be a new threat to the biodiversity of the Western hemisphere.
The study, published recently in the Journal of Mammalogy, used camera-trap surveys and data from roadkill to track the movement of the intrepid animal. Coyotes began punching through the jungles south of Mexico in the 1950s, reaching the isthmus of Panama in the early 1980s. Since then, as the country lost hundreds of thousands of acres of jungle to agriculture, the animals rapidly expanded their territory, crossing the Panama Canal around 2014.
in the course of just three years, beginning in 2015, the animals pushed forward their territory by at least 124 miles, the study says. Scientists have detected the species all the way to the western edge of Panama’s Darien National Park — the last obstacle left before they reach South America.
That obstacle might just hold back the coyote’s conquest. After all, humans have yet to tame Darien’s dense jungles and wetlands, home to fierce jaguars and deadly snakes. Attempts at completing a road through the region — which would have filled the last remaining gap in the Pan-American Highway running from northern Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina — failed in the 1970s, and humans have yet to attempt it since.
But the cunning coyote might yet prevail. “Anyone who studies coyotes for long knows not to underestimate them,” said Roland Kays, head of the Biodiversity Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and co-author of the study.
Kays points out that another invasive species has already made the jump from one American continent to the next — in the opposite direction. The crab-eating fox, another adventurous canid species native to South America, made its way from Colombia to Panama through the Darien gap a couple of years ago, also largely thanks to deforestation. The fox species and the coyote now share territory for the first time in recorded history.
The ramifications for such a species interchange have yet to be seen, but if previous episodes of invasive species tell us anything, it won’t be good. Coyotes that reach South America would almost certainly spread far and wide, just as they have in the north. The coyotes aren’t typically any more threatening than feral dogs. But they would disrupt food chains and compete for ecological resources with native wildlife across the continent. They would also clash with South American human communities, as they have in North American cities.
And coyotes could just be the start. As deforestation continues, other species might follow the path across the Darien gap, including insects and agricultural pests. Who knows what havoc such travelers could wreak on either side of the Panamanian land bridge?
Why risk such a fate? Fortunately, the nations of Central America resolved last month at the U.N. COP 25 Climate Change Conference to halt the destruction of the “five great forests” of southern Mexico and Central America, including the Darien. It’s an encouraging development, but those nations must be held accountable to make sure they actually follow through.
To begin, they can set one concrete goal: Hold the line against invading coyotes. Fortify the region’s rainforest defenses. Do everything possible to keep these animals from arriving in a new continent. If we can stave off this offense, perhaps we can win the bigger war to save biodiversity.
Read more:
Trump’s EPA Re-Approves ‘Cyanide Bombs’ Deadly to Coyotes, Foxes and Feral Dogs, other Wildlife
Lawsuit Targets Trump Wildlife-killing Program in 10 California Counties
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PETA’s Secret Weapon In Fur Ban Fight: A Coyote Trap
The animal-rights group is showing lawmakers how brutal the traps are as the City Council considers a ban on fur sales.
By Noah Manskar, Patch Staff | |
As the City Council considers banning fur sales, Dan Mathews, a senior vice president at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has been snapping pencils with one of those traps to show lawmakers just how brutal the fur trade is.
“Some of the shards of the pencil fly eight feet across the room and they imagine that being an animal’s bone — it puts a visceral face on a talking point,” said Mathews, who has met over the last several weeks with half a dozen Council members, including Speaker Corey Johnson.
PETA is training its activists to show the traps off more widely and producing a video featuring the designer Stella McCartney to educate consumers about them, Mathews said.
“People have commented that it looks like something out of a medieval torture museum,” Mathews said. “And I think when people realize that there are thousands of these in use today capturing animals — not just coyotes but all sorts of wildlife and family dogs — it becomes a very simple issue.”
The so-called leghold trap Mathews demonstrated for Patch on Thursday snapped in the blink of an eye. Food is used to lure coyotes to the devices, which go for as little as $10 online. But they inadvertently capture other creatures such as dogs, cats, songbirds and owls — which trappers call “trash animals,” Mathews said.
New York State is home to about 10,000 trappers. Leghold traps are used throughout the state, including just north of the city in Westchester County, Mathews said.
State law bans leg-gripping traps with teeth and requires trappers in most parts of the state to visit their traps every 24 hours. But such rules are hard to enforce, as only the trappers generally know where the traps are set, Mathews said.
Mathews expects a tough fight over the proposed fur ban despite Johnson’s support for it. The bill would bar retailers from selling fur apparel and fine those who get caught.
Johnson has argued the measure would help protect animals. But longtime Manhattan furrier Jerry Sorbara, whose store is on West 32nd Street, says it could put him out of business.
“It’s gonna escalate to that you cannot even walk in the street and they come and see what kind of shoes you (are) wearing, and they will kill you if you wear something that is not right,” said Sorbara, 80, who opened his custom fur business in 1975. “I think it’s really insane what they’re doing.”
While Johnson’s bill would let merchants sell used fur items, Sorbara said only “a handful” of people sell used fur coats. The ban could also hurt parts of the fashion industry that make other components of fur garments such as buttons and linings, he said.
Sorbara said he uses furs from farm-raised minks, chinchillas and sables — not trapped animals. He’s even made a miniature mink coat for a customer’s dog.
“You mean to say … that we don’t love animals? Are you kidding me?” Sorbara said.
Morrissey Launches Protest Against Canada Goose Ahead of Canadian Tour
Published Apr 11, 2019
Morrissey is just days away from starting his Canadian tour, but he’s now taking aim at one of the country’s best known brands, Canada Goose, and urging Canadians to join his protest against the company.
The divisive Smiths singer has joined forces with PETA to call on the Canadian clothing brand to stop using fur and feathers in its products. In a newly posted open letter, Morrissey states that will be gathering fans’ signatures during the tour for a petition against Canada Goose. He then aims to deliver this to CEO Dani Reiss at the end of his Canadian tour.
“I’m writing to urge Canada Goose to act more like its namesake (e.g., smart, brave, and willing to fly off in a new direction) by making the bold ethical choice to remove coyote fur and down feathers from its parkas,” Morrissey begins in his letter.
“Canada Goose has almost singlehandedly revived the cruel trapping industry, in which animals can suffer for days and try to gnaw off their ensnared limbs before the trapper eventually returns to bludgeon them to death. No hood adornment is worth that. And geese are confined to cramped cages and trucked hundreds of miles to slaughter in all weather conditions before they’re hung upside down and their throats are slit—often while they’re still conscious — so that their feathers can be stuffed into (and poke out of) jackets.”
He adds: “I’d be the first to celebrate a cruelty-free Canada Goose coat by wearing one proudly. Until then, I’ll be collecting signatures during my Canadian tour calling for Canada Goose to stop killing animals for coats.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time Moz has taken aim at Canadian business practices. In fact, he hasn’t stepped foot on Canadian soil since launching protests against the country’s seal-clubbing policies more than a decade ago.
As previously reported, Morrissey will also be embarking on Canadian tour this weekend with a pair of concerts in Vancouver. You can see his entire Canadian tour schedule over here.
Morrissey’s new album California Son is due out on May 24 via his BMGimprint Etienne.
Injured, Blind Coyote Pulls Through Incredible Ordeal, Gives Her Rescuers Huge Surprise
A few weeks ago, The Animal Rescue Team rescued a coyote who is the definition of a survivor. She survived a 30-foot fall, dehydration, rodent poison, starvation and a gunshot to the head! In fact, when they found her she had stopped breathing and they had to perform CPR until they got her to the vet!
image: https://www.reshareworthy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/blind-coyote-6.jpg
Photo credit: Animal Rescue Team
But that wasn’t the last of the surprises this tough coyote had in store for her rescuers. Six weeks after her rescue, the Animal Rescue Team was cleaning her large enclosure when they discovered puppies!
image: https://www.reshareworthy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/blind-coyote-1.jpg
Photo credit: Animal Rescue Team
“Although she remains blind, she is the best mother we have ever witnessed,” they wrote.
The fact that the mother coyote pulled through her ordeal still amazes her rescuers.
image: https://www.reshareworthy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/blind-coyote-2.jpg
Photo credit: Animal Rescue Team
“This is a first for us in 35 years of rescuing wildlife,” the group said. They believe that after she was shot, she escaped and ended up plummeting the 30 feet into a dried-out riverbed of the Santa Ynez watershed.
image: https://www.reshareworthy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/blind-coyote-3.jpg
Photo credit: Animal Rescue Team
Someone notified the rescue group and that’s when they found her. Despite all the hardships she’s endured, the group said, “She is a sweet, kind, doting momma.”
image: https://www.reshareworthy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/blind-coyote-4.jpg
Photo credit: Animal Rescue Team
They said that once her puppies are grown that they will be released far into the wild and away from human dangers.
Meanwhile, their heroic mom will be given to a state permitted wildlife facility. “We believe she deserves to remain alive.”
image: https://www.reshareworthy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/blind-coyote-5.jpg
Photo credit: Animal Rescue Team
Considering her miraculous recovery, I would say she’s more than deserving!
Share this special rescue with your friends and family!
Read more at https://www.reshareworthy.com/blind-coyote-rescue-with-puppies/#dBHRA8Q1tCo3QYmF.99
Torrance awaits environmental review for stepped-up coyote management plan
An environmental review is under way on plans to increase coyote trapping in the city of Torrance, according to an announcement issued Wednesday, Feb. 20.
The revisions to the city’s coyote management plan were approved in November amid what have been ongoing resident complaints about the loss of pets to the wild predators. The move also came after it was revealed that the city had trapped just one coyote in the two years leading up to the fall of 2018.
The city’s reporting data tracking sightings and coyote attacks on cats and dogs also had fallen behind.
The revisions to the plan would institute a five-month active trapping season from October to March each year. Trapping also would be expanded to geographical areas where dangerous coyote behavior is reported. Currently, the strategy is more pinpointed to individual locations that have been reported.
The new measures also call for hiring a part-time, civilian coyote management staff assistant and stepping up the city’s education and outreach programs.
The goal is to have the revised plan in place by fall.
Cities throughout the nation are increasingly dealing with coyote management strategies as the animals have made new dwelling places in urban areas where food is plentiful. Many cities rely heavily or even solely on wildlife education programs for residents and include no lethal management methods. More recently, as the problems have persisted, some cities have begun instituting targeted trapping and euthanasia in neighborhoods where aggressive coyote behavior is reported.
The issue is an emotionally heated one with animal rights groups pushing against lethal methods and residents who believe cities must do more to protect people and pets as a matter of public safety.
George Coniglio on Holley NY coyote-kill contest
“Today, I’m embarrassed to be a human being.
I’m amazed at the depths some of us can sink to, all in the name of good, clean fun for the whole family.
I’m perplexed at how some of us can rationalize our deviant behavior regardless of how much pain and suffering results from it.
And I’m disgusted that some of us will attempt to justify the invalidation of the sanctity of all life in order to satiate an appetite for blood drawn by their own hands.
What happens in Holley, New York later today isn’t about hunting. Nor is it about guns or Second Amendment rights or nuisance abatement or the industrial agriculture vs. living off the land debate or feeding the hungry.
What happens in Holley, New York later today is about the sad fact there exists in a certain segment of our society a mindset that derives a perverse pleasure from needlessly preying on the weak and defenseless. for no good reason other than it’s fun to kill them.
i can’t imagine seeing the world through their eyes.
What an ugly place it must be.
Where we see the miraculous beauty of all living things, they instead see unfeeling objects there for the plundering, whose life value can be minimized to the point where it’s worth little more than prize redemption in a killing contest.
Be mad.
Or be sad.
But be something.
If we’re indeed the superior species on this planet (as so many seem to think), isn’t it high time we act the part? If not for their good, at least for our own?”
