This is something I have thought long and hard about for years. The way that wild canids (foxes, coyotes, wolves) are treated is appalling. Unless, they are (or were) on the Endangered Species List (e.g., wolves) most states allow unlimited hunting seasons on these social, family-oriented animals. Very few states recognize the important role that these predators play in a myriad of food chains/webs.
I often wonder if people realize just why rabbits are so quick (because of foxes and coyotes), deer are so swift (b/c of coyotes and wolves), and elk, moose, and bison are so strong (wolves). To me it is so obvious. Even the most ancient humans (Native Americans) in North America have only been here for about 10,000 years, yet the other species I just mentioned are millions of years old. Obviously, predator and prey have evolved together over millennia.
Eastern Coyote Research recommends Congress to author the “National Canid Protection Act” to reflect the importance of these predators. I am amazed how state fish and game departments (generally) could care less about the species. For instance, a federal judge recently reversed the Bush Administration’s decision to take the wolf in the northern Rockies of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because the states of Wyoming (especially), Idaho, and Montana effectively want to immediately more than halve the population of these magnificent predators (in the first 2-3 months of being removed from the ESA in spring 2008 over 100 wolves had been killed). That is unbelievable when you think that they are just being removed from the ESA and the Bush Admin effectively allowed the states to wipe out half of their numbers. No regards to their ecological importance was made in taking wolves off the ESA.
Nationwide, most states allow unlimited slaughters (whether year-round or for half of the year) of coyotes despite the important ecological role that they maintain in a variety of ecosystems from rural to urban areas. Coyotes are rarely a danger to people yet they are still slaughtered in staggering numbers. There are very simple ways to coexist with these animals, and my website (as well as others) provides simple recommendations to do just that.
And the thing that gets me most is that man's best friend, the domestic dog, evolved directly from gray wolves. Thus, we literally live with wolves and we know that these animals are social, family oriented animals, yet we do nothing to protect them. I think that society will one day frown upon how we have treated other animals, and I hope canids are the first group that we look at. There are currently animal cruelty laws for harming domestic dogs yet the same person (in Massachusetts, one of the most protective states pertaining to coyote regulations) can go to K-Mart buy a $30 hunting license and literally blast away as many coyotes (coywolves) as they want for just about 6 months a year (October-March). That is pathetic. And it is undemocractic since most (actually, the vast majority of) people don't hunt and would rather learn how to coexist with these animals.
The National Canid Protection Act would function similar to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Eagle Protection Act where the random shooting of these species should be illegal, especially on our public lands. I believe there is no way that individual states would ever pass this act because of state fish and game agencies catering to hunters. Thus, I recommend that Congress initiate this important act so coyotes live how they should, and wolves are never legally slaughtered immediately upon being taken off of the ESA.
Americans value their wildlife and I think the National Canid Protection Act would best reflect our growing understanding of all species (including competitors to us) in a myriad of ecosystems!
