Please take action today to stop a Coyote-killing contest in Ontario that is taking place throughout February. This is a brutal contest that also places Algonquin Wolves at risk of being killed. It’s easy to mistake Algonquin Wolves for Coyotes, so both species are in danger.
Help Stop the Killing Contest
Please call right away the following ministry staffers who are responsible for enforcing Ontario’s wildlife legislation:
Lisa Foucault: Acting Manager, Enforcement Services, 705-930-3063
Jamie Stewart: Manager, Fish and Wildlife Policy Branch, 705-760-0018
Let them know you expect the Ministry to respect animals and the environment. Please politely tell them you oppose the killing contest for the following reasons:
1. it is illegal and unethical
2. it endangers the Algonquin wolf, which is a species at risk in Ontario
And ask them:
1. why the Ministry intervened but did not shut down the contest?
2. when are they going to shut it down?
Once again, members of the public, people like you and I, have to hold the ministry responsible and urge them to enforce their own laws. This is the state of wildlife protection in Ontario.
The Issue
Coyotes and wolves need all of us to communicate with decision-makers at Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry right away. According to the ministry’s own legislation, it is unlawful for anyone to provide an incentive to kill wild animals, so Ministry staff should take action and close down the killing contest.
The legislation is clear, yet a hunting goods store has offered prizes to the 10 hunters who kill both the largest and smallest coyotes.
We must make it clear to Ministry staffers
that we expect them to enforce their own regulations.
This is, surely, something that they should not need encouragement to do.
We’ve been successful before! In 2011, Animal Alliance of Canada, along with our ally Coyote Watch Canada, hired a lawyer to send a letter to the Ministry reminding them of their responsibility to enforce their own legislation. Shortly after, that killing contest was shut down.
The Law Regarding a Killing Contest
The Act is clear. It prohibits anyone from providing an incentive to kill wild animals.
Section 11 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 states:
Hunting or trapping for gain:
11 (1) Except with the authorization of the Minister, a person shall not,
(a) hunt for hire, gain or the expectation of gain;
(b) hire, employ or induce another person to hunt for gain;
(c) trap for hire, gain or the expectation of gain;
(d) hire, employ or induce another person to trap for gain; or
(e) pay or accept a bounty.
Coyotes are a persecuted and misunderstood species who are scapegoated for a myriad of problems. Peaceful co-existence is possible when humans have the will to respect the right of wild species to merely exist. Coyotes are easy targets for those who kill living beings as a form of entertainment. Coyotes and other wildlife already have few protections and it’s more than reasonable for Ontarians to demand that the limited regulations that do exist should be enforced.
