Op-Ed: Rewarding Cruelty - Serial Killing Coyotes

I was disgusted to learn of the coyote killing contest last weekend (February 21-23) in Whitehall, Montana. Apparently, a local high school senior organized the event as a fundraiser for Future Farmers of America. This is particularly disturbing and reflects poorly on the community of Whitehall. I find it hard to believe that a teenage girl would harbor that type of hatred for animals which leads me to the assumption that her father likely indoctrinated her with this cruelty towards animals. Other parents took their young children there in an orchestrated attempt by the adults to desensitize kids to animal death and cruelty. This is exactly how it starts - disaffected kids that start out torturing small animals, then graduate to killing neighborhood pets, then graduate to become serial killers as adults. Sociopath training.

In a town of about 1000 people, I imagine that each of you personally know someone who was involved in some way with this shameful and despicable event. This is exactly how small rural towns like Whitehall get a well-deserved reputation for being home to ignorant rednecks.

Someone needs to grow a spine and call out this horrific behavior as unacceptable. The question remains: who has the courage to do it? Was your husband, son, uncle, father, nephew, brother, or anyone in your sphere of connections involved?  Maybe it’s time to have some hard conversations.  

I understand that ranchers trying to raise livestock are frustrated by predations on their stock. But organizing and targeting a killing spree against coyotes is not the answer. There are peer-reviewed studies published that document an increase in coyote populations immediately following these cullings.  You think you are solving a problem but you’re making it worse. 

Please consider taking some responsibility for choosing to be a rancher in Montana and take the initiative to implement your own predation-prevention measures.  There are alternatives to murdering every last coyote in your county.  Among the non-lethal options are fladry, range riders, livestock guarding dogs, and electric fencing. The fact that there were truck beds full of rabbits, coons, and fox (in addition to coyotes) tells me that this is more about the sadistic recreational pleasure of watching animals die rather than any genuine attempt at curbing predation.  

Let’s not pretend we don’t know the family who was behind this. Sadly, it’s not a shock considering Dayle Kountz was convicted of felony animal cruelty from the vicious horse incident in 2015. This was likely done by a small minority group and it should not give Whitehall a black eye. You are better than that. But tolerance is silent complicity. I truly hope you will reconsider and start acting with a bit more humanity.  It starts with rooting out the rot that hides in your community.