AB coyote farm predator control

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Hello.

I have a question for the Alberta Gunnies that know hunting regs and farm predator control regs. Before I get jumped on about asking here, the first thing i told her was to call the fish cops and ask as they are "the Law" in this respect, and may even come deal with it themselves. I just thought maybe the knowledgeable people here might be able to shed some light on the matter.

My friend has a small farm with a coyote problem, they are hunting and killing her livestock and do not seem to be afraid of people either ( she has 2 small kids not yet in school and it will come in the yard during the day while she is out in the yard) . She asked if i would be willing to come and deal with the problem for her as she does not have a firearm licence.

I have read the 2 regs above as best I could understand them.
As a AB resident and with the permition of the occupant/ land owner since it is a private farm with a problem predator animal I do not need a Licence or tags for coyote in order to deal with it. Also since it is a problem predator I am except from the law with regards to saving the pelt of a fur bearing animal (but as long as it is not mangy I am thinking I would have it saved anyway). Do I have this correct or am I way off.

I also said she should call the county to ask if there are any laws against firearms discharge for her area.

Also what would people recommend as the best round to do the job Slug, OO Buck, .223HP? (Thats what I have other than 22lr.)
 
Check to see whether there are any restrictions on discharging firearms where your friend lives. Make sure you have written permission from the landowner. Chatting with the CO's (call or visit Fish and Wildlife) before you start. Explain the "protection of livestock" motivation. Get that in the letter from the landowner as well.
If it's a place where you can legally discharge a rifle, I would go with a .223 SP or HP and be sure of what's behind your target.
How big is the property?

P.S. also look up the minimum distance from an occupied building that you can legally discharge a firearm. If there's a neighbour living on the adjacent property this may well come into the equation.
 
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Check with the ag service board at the county office, they used to have a way to deal with coyotes (1080 pills). That may be a thing of the past it’s been 20+yrs since I lived in Alberta.
 
Check to see whether there are any restrictions on discharging firearms where your friend lives. Make sure you have written permission from the landowner. Chatting with the CO's (call or visit Fish and Wildlife) before you start. Explain the "protection of livestock" motivation. Get that in the letter from the landowner as well.
If it's a place where you can legally discharge a rifle, I would go with a .223 SP or HP and be sure of what's behind your target.
How big is the property?

Her land is about 500 feet by a half mile with heavy bush along one edge (we think thats were the den is) And the neibour behind has his house on the prperty line off to the side where the bush is. So over penitration is a concern of mine. Thats why i was thinking 12ga might be better
 
Hello.

I have a question for the Alberta Gunnies that know hunting regs and farm predator control regs. Before I get jumped on about asking here, the first thing i told her was to call the fish cops and ask as they are "the Law" in this respect, and may even come deal with it themselves. I just thought maybe the knowledgeable people here might be able to shed some light on the matter.

My friend has a small farm with a coyote problem, they are hunting and killing her livestock and do not seem to be afraid of people either ( she has 2 small kids not yet in school and it will come in the yard during the day while she is out in the yard) . She asked if i would be willing to come and deal with the problem for her as she does not have a firearm licence.

I have read the 2 regs above as best I could understand them.
As a AB resident and with the permition of the occupant/ land owner since it is a private farm with a problem predator animal I do not need a Licence or tags for coyote in order to deal with it. Also since it is a problem predator I am except from the law with regards to saving the pelt of a fur bearing animal (but as long as it is not mangy I am thinking I would have it saved anyway). Do I have this correct or am I way off.

I also said she should call the county to ask if there are any laws against firearms discharge for her area.

Also what would people recommend as the best round to do the job Slug, OO Buck, .223HP? (Thats what I have other than 22lr.)

No game laws or licenses (beyond your PAL) involved. County may have firearm discharge rules you will have to consider. Parkland, for example, does not allow the discharge of firearms east of Mink Lake road, though most people just ignore them. I used to do this for a few farmers yearly when the coyote populations got too high. - dan
 
Her land is about 500 feet by a half mile with heavy bush along one edge (we think thats were the den is) And the neibour behind has his house on the prperty line off to the side where the bush is. So over penitration is a concern of mine. Thats why i was thinking 12ga might be better

What you could do is set up a pop up hunting tent and a wounded rabbit call. then put a 22LR in it's ear and if there is a den in the bush find it and get rid of the rest of them . use a stinger or something else with high velocity . make sure your scope is sighted in with the ammo your going to use.
 
.204 ruger and .17 hmr are great options for no ricochet with the lighter frangible loads, .223 with similar would also be good, snares work pretty well and they hunt full time so if no dogs running around could be an option along the fence line trails that come into the property, you'll trick them with each method only once every few weeks minimum, ie; calling, baiting works also, but you need to shoot well with your first shot on each encounter as likely only to get one of them at a time, then employ new strategy/patience...I'd be going at them with all of it, baiting, snares, calling, shooting with whatever is allowed there, they will become very nocturnal quickly once they know you are after them

if allowed and sort of 'acreage' country then the .17 hmr is one of best options, great for 0-150 yard coyote/beaver/porky control while remaining polite with the neighbours, the .204's and .223's are quite a bit less polite on the noise end of it, I've taken a bunch of coyotes with the .17 hmr and 17 grain cci tnt load out to about 130 yards, zero 1" high at 100
 
Your allowed to have a rifle out for predator control here in AB. saying that you do have to be aware of a few things.
How much land does she have and is it open pasture, brush or swamp?
Using myself as an example I have a quarter section and have pasture, brush and swamp on my property and also have people living nearby so I only shoot in certain directions
Wherever the coyotes are gathering take note where other houses in the distance are located or if she has close neighbors
You definitely don't want to shoot in the direction of someones dwellings and it would be a good idea to let the neighbors know your plans on dealing with the yotes
Any decent neighbor prob wants them gone as well but you never know if there is a Liberal living in the area
your .223 will do the job just fine and like was said above double check the county rules. I am in parkland too but am west of mink lake so can shoot with no issues
 
No license required to hunt coyotes in AB and there is no closed season. Non-residents can hunt them too with a resident who holds a Hunter Host license. I think the HH license is still $27?
Actually there is a season for Alberta coyotes on public lands in the green area.
From start date of a big game season to May 31, or June 15 if there's a spring bear season in the WMU.
In the white area there is no season.

Sounds like the OP is in the white area, so as others have mentioned, local discharge rules & distance to adjacent properties should be reviewed.
The silence of snaring is an option, but of course that's a different skill set.
 
Actually there is a season for Alberta coyotes on public lands in the green area.
From start date of a big game season to May 31, or June 15 if there's a spring bear season in the WMU.
In the white area there is no season.

Sounds like the OP is in the white area, so as others have mentioned, local discharge rules & distance to adjacent properties should be reviewed.
The silence of snaring is an option, but of course that's a different skill set.

If you're shooting for livestock protection, there is no season. It isnt considered "sport". - dan
 
If you're shooting for livestock protection, there is no season. It isnt considered "sport". - dan
Absolutely.
At certain farms I don't even care what time of day it is let alone the date.
I just wanted to note that there is actually a season involved for coyotes depending on location and purpose.
Predator control allows exemptions as you note, and which I should have mentioned as well.
 
Absolutely.
At certain farms I don't even care what time of day it is let alone the date.
I just wanted to note that there is actually a season involved for coyotes depending on location and purpose.
Predator control allows exemptions as you note, and which I should have mentioned as well.

No problem. I have a friend from Europe who comes over every few years just for shooting coyotes, and he always gets the licenses. - dan
 
I live in Manitoba - so a "non-resident" for Alberta - some years ago, my brother asked me over to help out on a moose draw that he got. He was apparently my "Host" - just found the little baggy that I carried for that hunt - has Alberta WIN card, Alberta Wildlife Certificate Resource Development Certificate, and Non-Resident Wolf/Coyote Licence (Hosted Hunt) - all now expired, of course. Looks like I needed a WIN card first, to get the other two papers - "Development Certificate" cost $29.63 and the Wolf/Coyote licence cost $13.02 - I do not remember what I paid for the WIN Card. As was done in 2018/2019 season - allowed me to carry a rifle in that bush while brother was looking for a moose - which he did get the morning that I left to drive back to Manitoba - right beside a trail that we had driven along, most every morning.

I never fired a shot on that trip - I was pretty happy just to be carrying a rifle - I had taken my 9.3x62 Mauser - I had visions of messing with moose meat in that pretty primo grizzly bear country - not tough enough, any more, to think that I could deal with one of those bears or a mountain lion, without a rifle.
 
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I live in Manitoba - so a "non-resident" for Alberta - some years ago, my brother asked me over to help out on a moose draw that he got. He was apparently my "Host" - just found the little baggy that I carried for that hunt - has Alberta WIN card, Alberta Wildlife Certificate Resource Development Certificate, and Non-Resident Wolf/Coyote Licence (Hosted Hunt) - all now expired, of course. Looks like I needed a WIN card first, to get the other two papers - "Development Certificate" cost $29.63 and the Wolf/Coyote licence cost $13.02 - I do not remember what I paid for the WIN Card. As was done in 2018/2019 season - allowed me to carry a rifle in that bush while brother was looking for a moose - which he did get the morning that I left to drive back to Manitoba - right beside a trail that we had driven along, most every morning.

I never fired a shot on that trip - I was pretty happy just to be carrying a rifle - I had taken my 9.3x62 Mauser - I had visions of messing with moose meat in that pretty primo grizzly bear country - not tough enough, any more, to think that I could deal with one of those bears or a mountain lion, without a rifle.

I've been hunter host for a few folks over the years. I'm glad AB still has the program. - dan
 
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