LETTER: Vermont’s coyotes deserve empathy
December 2, 2024
Coyote photo courtesy Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
To the Community:
So many people lack empathy towards wild animals who are simply trying to survive. We all know what it's like when we miss a meal: our bellies rumble and we might even get lightheaded. Many of us are lucky enough to be able to reach into the fridge and quickly satisfy that hunger. Imagine being a wild animal who can only feed itself and its young by foraging, scavenging or hunting with its mouth or claws—no guns, no crossbows, no traps, no full belly to fuel your hunt.
Let's pretend we're a coyote for just a minute… You want to hunt for mice or groundhogs in a field, but farmers shoot you. You may want to scavenge on a deer carcass, but you'll be accused by hunters of killing the deer. You'll even settle for fallen apples on the ground, but a landowner will accuse you of being rabid because you were seen during the day. Pet food left outside is super yummy and when you show up in someone's backyard at night, you'll be accused of stalking people's dogs. Hunting in the woods for squirrels and chipmunks is great, but if a hunter sees you, he'll kill you just for the fun of it and under the flawed assumption that he's “managing” the coyote population.
And, yes, coyotes do kill deer, but not nearly as many as they're accused of. And each time they hunt deer, they are putting their lives at risk. A coyote can easily suffer from a broken back or legs from just one strong kick by a deer. Life is not easy.
Coyotes don't seek to be cruel, however man certainly does. Coyotes are lured to baited leghold traps and left to suffer for a day or longer before being killed by the trapper. They are shot over bait piles, even in the middle of night and during times of year when they're nursing their pups. They are chased for miles by packs of hounds before being killed. Their lifeless bodies are nailed to trees or strung across fences—obvious displays of white-hot contempt by hunters. No other wild animal is treated so horribly, all under the watch of the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife.
This holiday season, let's find it in ourselves to show compassion for some of the most unfairly maligned and misunderstood—coyotes.
Sincerely,
Jane Fitzwilliam
Putney, Vermont