Bounty on coyotes won't help moose and caribou population, says Avalon hunting guide

[Thomas D'Arcy McGee]

A hunting guide in Newfoundland says offering a bounty to hunt coyotes may not have the desired effect, since the animals are incredibly evasive. (Submitted by Albert Lee)

Bounty on coyotes won't help moose and caribou population, says Avalon hunting guide

CBC News Posted: Mar 11, 2018 7:00 AM NT Last Updated: Mar 11, 2018 7:00 AM NT

Paying people to hunt coyotes won't necessarily thin the pack, says one hunting guide on the Avalon Peninsula.

The government re-introduced its so-called canid collections program last week, which pays hunters $25 for the pelt of a coyote.

"I don't think it will do very much if anything at all to significantly reduce predator numbers or their impact on big game species," said Wayne Holloway, a guide with decades of experience in the province's forests.

As it turns out, coyotes are pretty hard to hunt, he said.

"They're an intelligent animal that survives in close proximity to human populations, so they've learned how to evade."

If you measure the success of hunters against the amount of effort that goes in to shooting or trapping a coyote, the $25 is hardly worth it.

Moose licences have been slashed in the province, but some hunting association reps say that's not enough. (Submitted by Luc Gervais)

Holloway said government scientists may get valuable information from the pelts, to determine just how much the Labrador wolf species has mixed with coyotes on the island.

"Outside of that, I don't think there's any expectation here that hunters and even trappers are going to have a significant impact on the population of these canines."

The government announced last week it would issue 2,470 fewer moose licences for the 2018 hunting season, but some hunting association reps have said it's not enough.

Coyotes not the biggest issue for moose
Holloway says the biggest threat to the moose and caribou population is habitat loss. Woods roads and transmission lines have been cut all across the province, including new lines related to the Muskrat Falls project.

He says access should be reduced in areas of the province so moose can raise their young and get healthy before hunting season.

"It's an environmental disaster that wouldn't happen, it wouldn't be allowed in any other environment than this crazy place we live in here."

With files from Central Morning Show

 

[dutchhunter]

Maybe they should open up the area to guys that hunt coyotes with hounds

 

[3macs1]

It sure helped here. Got a lot of trappers back into the game to go after them
Now that they stopped paying it they are coming back however since trappers gave up on them again and I don't blame them
Also they run in packs here, are much bigger than the norm and take down moose also especially the young ones in the spring or ones in deep snow

Cheers

 

[FLHTCUI]

It wont help , but it might be fun trying to prove the expert wrong.
FLHTCUI

 

[StoneHorse]

It wont help , but it might be fun trying to prove the expert wrong.
FLHTCUI

+1.

 

[mark222]

"Wayne Holloway, a guide with decades of experience in the province's forests. As it turns out, coyotes are pretty hard to hunt, he said."

Lol, just finding that out now?


"If you measure the success of hunters against the amount of effort that goes in to shooting or trapping a coyote, the $25 is hardly worth it."

Certainly not something I'd try to do for a living, but I'll take the $25 over the nothing I'm getting right now. If I added up how much it cost me for every coyote I've shot (with my time at minimum wage), I would say $100 is hardly worth it.

 

[finstr]

I shoot every coyote I can. Even when one comes around when I'm hunting turkeys or deer. I'd gladly take a $25 check from the gov if I don't have to skin it or stretch it.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Guess the big question is if coyotes are really a threat to moose ? New one on me. Unless they catch a cow in the act of calving, I would think moose calves are beyond their abilities and mama moose is a force to be reckoned with once the calves become mobile.

Grizz

 

[Uisge]

25$ is a little light. But I do it for free anyways. I’m terrible at it though, be lucky to make a 100$ in a year lol. If a guy camped out near a feed lot or near a dump you could probably do alright.

 

[xingyc]

A hunting guide... Why don't they just get a blogger. Isn't there biologist in the government and universities who specializes in environment management.

 

[3macs1]

Guess the big question is if coyotes are really a threat to moose ? New one on me. Unless they catch a cow in the act of calving, I would think moose calves are beyond their abilities and mama moose is a force to be reckoned with once the calves become mobile.

Grizz

Ours can and have.
Sounds like they do the same in Ontario
Hunters know that coyotes can put a dent in deer herds and small game populations. But can they take down a moose?

A new study conducted in Ontario's Algonquin Park has proven they can. Researcher John Benson trapped coyotes from 10 different packs and fitted them with GPS collars. From 2009 to 2010 he confirmed four cases in which different packs of coyotes and coyote/wolf hybrids killed moose.


In one case, the moose -- a 20-month old female that was likely more than 200 kilograms -- was brought down by a pack of just two coyotes.
_
"That was impressive," acknowledged John Benson, lead author of the report, who conducted the research while he was a graduate student at Trent University in Peterborough, Ont.

On the other hand, he said, it's not really surprising, since it's known that when packs of wolves attack a moose, most of the work is done by only one or two individuals.

Prior to the study, most scientists had assumed that coyotes don't kill moose, said Benson, who was unable to find any documented cases of coyotes killing adult moose._

Benson also documented five cases where he suspected coyotes had killed moose, but he couldn't confirm the kill. An important side note: coyotes in Ontario and the northeast are much larger than coyotes found in the Midwest and Western U.S.

 

[Clayduster]

A bounty can't hurt. We had one here is ns for a few years. 20 bucks a pelt that was shipped to auction. The prices then were terrible. They let it lapse a few years ago. Prices are up now, a lot of guys are averaging close to 50 bucks a pelt for eastern. Western coyotes close to 100 and there are guys out there catching them by the hundreds. I caught 20 just on the 80 acres of our farm and I expect that will help the deer numbers this season. Sure as he'll won't hurt to try and i enjoy going aftter them. I ship my fur next week, nafa auction is in may. And if you say they will just have bigger litters, I will still go at them again next season. I am not seeing any sign now, but know more will filter in to take up the territory.