Most people are shocked and outraged to learn that Pennsylvania, the state of the Quakers and Pennsylvania Dutch, continues to harbor and promote gruesome wildlife killing contests of Pennsylvania’s most precious wildlife. These contests include some of the largest killing sprees promoting unregulated killing for fun native wildlife that are necessary for a healthy ecosystem. What millions love to watch and enjoy as part of their nature experience; a handful of trappers and trophy hunters are stealing their opportunities to enjoy wildlife. Falsely labeled as conservation to mislead, the theft of our natural resources are being wantonly wasted for our generations to come.

A visit to Mosquito Creek Sportsmen’s Association annual coyote killing contest tell the same story of every killing contest, the need for them to end. A person only needs to look at the mutilated bodies of coyotes laid in a line in the back of the building on a tarp to contain the blood to realize there needs to be a ban on the killing.

(Volunteers weighing coyotes at check-in)

Contestants lined up dragging coyotes as men hung them upside down for a weight. The anquish and pain is frozen on all the faces of the lifeless song dogs. Contestants were on a blood induced killing high. The floor was covered with blood red foot prints.

(A coyote caught in a leg hold trapis tagged with his limb dislocated which he had twisted trying to free himelf from the steel leg hold trap.)

(USDA representative removing the head of a coyote for a trophy hunter. picture above)

The USDA was present, not hesitating to cut the heads off for trophy hunters to secure the bodies for testing. He kneeled on pads as the contestants presented the coyotes for his taking He was talkative and answered many questions but when a contestant asked about the spreading of covid and chronic wasting disease, he whispered as he shared the information.

(Contestants with their coyotes for check in picture above)

Coyotes weren’t the only wildlife losing their lives in this killing craze. Outside pick up trucks drive into the parking lot with stacks of different animals ranging from foxes to raccoons, piled high in the truck beds. ATV’s in the pick ups splattered with blood and pieces of hair are wedged in the tires, evidence that animals were run down. Out of state vehicles are parked on the side with dead coyotes potentialy spreading disease from state to state. Where and how the animals are killed is not the questions asked. There are no Game Wardens present.

(Randy McDonald poising for pictures with his coyote hat. picture above)

Over on the side of the road Randy McDonald, a contestant, welcomes questions on his entry. A yound female coyote lays in the back with her feet wrapped in ties. “How did you catch this girl and how old do you think she is,” asked a bystander.. “I ran her down with dogs” replies McDonald. He moves the femaale puppy over to be included in a picture, a bystander shakes his head no. “I don’t want her in the picture. We will turn people against hunting if we take a picture with this little girl.” McDonald ignores him and poses again along side his female pup with a big smile.

(Randy McDonald with his young pup pointed to where they were selling dogs at the sale. picture above)

The dead dogs themselves seem to melt into obscurity as human activity dominated at the Mosquito Creek Sportsmen Association Annual Coyote Hunt. The 29th annual coyote killing contest contest was the biggest in the history of the Mosquito Creek contest and in Pennsylvania with 4,914 hunters. The annual coyote killing contest is being held again by Mosquito Creek Ass. Feb 20 again and these gruesome killing contests will continue until we stop them.

Sadly, this is just one of 60 known killing contests that has been held in Pennsylvania where countless predators and wildlife are horrifically treated and killed by hounds, traps, and trophey hunters for prizes. Trapping and killing contests are a blood sport, cruel and unsporting that most ethical hunters abhor; they have nothing to do with hunting tradition, conservation or population control.

Killing coyotes does nothing for their population control, the Pa. Game Commission acknowledges killing predators is ineffective; ”after decades of using predator control-such as paying bounties-with no effect, and the emergence of wildlife management as a science, the agency finally accepted the reality that ator control does not work. Predators already are self limiting, there is only so many that the habitat will support.” The science agrees with them.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s job is to manage in trust our wildlife for all Pennsylvanians: but allowing a few individuals to wantonly waste and kill wildlife under the disguise of conservation and killing for fun is a grave violation of the state’s duty in this regard. We must ban trapping and killing contests in our state if we are to conserve wildlife heritage in our future. Contact the Pennsylvania Game Commission at 717-787-4250 and at pgccomments@pa.gov to ban trapping, killing contests to express your concerns.