Ban Wildlife Killing Contests on Federal Public Lands
Dear John,
Every year, thousands of wild animals across the US are slaughtered in wildlife killing contests. These contests are organized events in which participants compete to kill animals within a certain timeframe. Cash or prizes are typically awarded based on the number, weight, or size of animals killed. Contests frequently involve betting and a final party where prizes are awarded. Afterwards, away from public view, the carcasses of the animals are usually dumped.
Wildlife killing contests are cruel and have no place in a civil society or in modern wildlife management. The contests typically target native carnivores and can wipe hundreds of animals off a landscape in a single weekend. Killing large numbers of carnivores has significant negative environmental impacts because carnivores play an integral role in healthy ecosystems. They keep rodent populations in check, consume carrion, remove sick animals from the gene pool, disperse seeds, and increase the biological diversity of plant and wildlife communities. Such contests are antithetical to conservation ethics and undermine the long-term protection of our country's wildlife populations.
AWI, together with Project Coyote and allies, is petitioning for a ban on wildlife killing contests on all lands administered by the US Department of the Interior, including those managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.