Thanks to all your input, House Bill 4075, the bill to ban coyote-killing contests, was approved Thursday on a vote of 7-2 by the House Committee on Natural Resources. The bill now heads to the full House of Representatives for a vote, which could happen any day now.
Please call (best) or email your state representative as soon as possible and ask them to vote "yes" on House Bill 4075. See suggested talking points below. Be sure to tell them you are a "constituent" - meaning you live in their district. If you don't know already, you can find out who your state representative is here. Click on the link below their names to get their webpage including contact information.
Legislators to Thank
Several representatives and senators already deserve thanks for supporting this bill:
Representatives Brad Witt (Clatskanie) and Rob Nosse (SE Portland), the chief sponsors. Rep. Witt also chairs the committee that approved the bill and voted in favor.
Representatives Ken Helm (Beaverton), Tiffiny Mitchell (Astoria), Andrea Salinas (Lake Oswego), Sheri Schouten (Beaverton), Janeen Sollman (Hillsboro) and Marty Wilde (Eugene), the regular sponors. Rep. Helm also testified in favor of the bill at the public hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee.
Representatives Chris Gorsek (Troutdale), Sherrie Sprenger (Scio), John Lively (Springfield) and Jeff Reardon (Happy Valley), who also voted in favor of the bill as members of the House Natural Resources Committe.
Senator Floyd Prozanski (Eugene), who also testified in favor of the bill at the public hearing.
Be sure to thank these elected officials if you get the chance, especially if you are one of their constituents.
We are joining with other pro-wildlife groups in asking the Oregon Legislature to ban coyote-killing contests. Participants in these events compete for cash and prizes to see who can kill the most coyotes. Believe it or not, these cruel and unsporting contests still occur in Oregon. One was held just last month near Burns. For more information about the bill, including the specific text, go here.
For more information from our coalition, including responses to frequently asked questions, go here.
More Talking Points
By making a game out of killing as many coyotes as possible, coyote-killing contests show a lack of appreciation, respect and compassion for wildlife. They glorify killing for the sake of killing.
Hunters who believe in accepted standards of ethical hunting also oppose coyote-killing contests because they are inconsistent with the ethical hunting principles of respect and appreciation for wildlife. See this testimony from the former chair of Oregon's Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Studies show that the indiscriminate killing of native carnivores such as coyotes will not protect farm animals and other wildlife. It can even lead to an increase in coyote numbers by disrupting stable family packs, causing more reproduction. A good article on this topic can be found here. The research also is summarized in this written testimony from our coalition.
This not an urban vs. rural issue. This is about the state of Oregon and how Oregonians value and treat the public’s wildlife. We can value hunting as a tradition and establish restrictions on practices such as coyote-killing contests that are cruel and unsporting.
Oregon’s wildlife belong to all of us, including the majority of Oregonians (90 percent) who do not hunt. (2019-21 ODFW Budget Overview, p. 23.)
A number of other states have already banned wildlife and/or coyote-killing contests: New Mexico, Arizona, Massachusetts, California, and Vermont.
A recent public opinion poll commissioned by Remington Research Group indicated a strong majority of Oregonians support legislation to ban coyote-killing contests across all regions of the state.