The Indefensible Violence of Wildlife Killing Contests [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

APRIL 16, 2021
BY SAMANTHA BRUEGGER

Wildlife Killing Contests is—as intended—extremely difficult to watch. The recently released twenty-five-minute documentary, produced by Filipe DeAndrade and Brian Moghari in partnership with Project Coyote, contains graphic footage of animals being callously slain for entertainment and prize money, only to be added to piles of carcasses used for vain photo opportunities. As gruesome and stomach-turning as this footage is, the most sickening part is the simple fact that wildlife killing contests remain legal in over forty states, including across public lands.

Wildlife killing contests are prize-driven competitions to see who can kill the most target animals—such as bobcat, wolves, foxes, pumas, and, most of all, coyotes—in a given period of time. Offering the perspective from hunters, historians, activists, policymakers, and ranchers, this film makes clear that these brutal events targeting native wildlife constitute an unethical bloodsport, often motivated by prize money, with no scientific basis in ecosystem management.

Debunked and specious claims of “predator management” promoted by contest organizers and participants are convenient justifications for these killing contests that hold no scientific merit. Peer-reviewed studies have demonstrated that not only do these contests serve no legitimate ecosystem management purpose, they can actually exacerbate livestock depredation and human-wildlife conflict.

Throughout the documentary, we are faced with scenes of senseless and wasteful violence. “What’s the plan?” one contestant in the film asks another as they scout the Texas backcountry in the 2020 West Texas Big Bobcat contest, which paid the winning team over $50,000. “Kill s–t, get money,” his fellow contestant responds. Both laugh. As the film progresses, we watch as they bring down various species, eventually throwing the animals into a pile of carcasses in the bed of their truck.

More:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/04/16/the-indefensible-violence-of-wildlife-killing-contests/