Animal-Rights Activists Want Hunters To Lift Coyete Bounty

Fri., June 27, 1997

Associated Press

Animal-rights activists hope to put a stop to a $10 bounty the Oregon Hunters Association is paying for coyote ears.

The hunting club may have violated state laws or administrative regulations by failing to hold proper licenses to buy animal parts, said Scott Beckstead, a Waldport attorney working with the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

There is no regulated season or limit on shooting coyotes, and some hunters favor reducing their numbers because they prey on game animals, such as deer and antelope.

The central Oregon chapter of the club began offering a bounty 18 months ago and has paid out nearly $50,000. The group’s southern Oregon chapter has set aside $5,000 for bounties.

Hunters association spokesman Duane Dungannon said the bounties were intended to encourage hunters to shoot coyotes, but the club would stop offering the bounties if they are illegal.

Jackson County paid bounties for coyote ears until the mid-1960s, said former County Commissioner Hank Henry.

Government hunters are commonly called in for cases of animals preying on livestock.

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