January 1, 2015 at 10:12 AM | Page modified January 1, 2015 at 12:33 PM
Idaho hunting derby targets wolves, coyotes
A hunting derby with $1,000 each for whoever kills the most wolves and coyotes is scheduled to start at sunrise Friday in east-central Idaho. Organizers say withdrawal of a permit to hunt on federal lands may spark greater participation.
By KEITH RIDLER
Associated Press
A hunting derby with $1,000 each for whoever kills the most wolves and coyotes is scheduled to start at sunrise Friday in east-central Idaho.
Idaho for Wildlife’s three-day Predator Hunting Contest and Fur Rendezvous is planned on private ranch land and U.S. Forest Service land around Salmon.
“I think we’re going to have a good turnout,” said Steve Alder, organizer of the contest. He didn’t have an estimate on the number of hunters though due to the remoteness of the area.
The group earlier this year received permission to include land administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management but the agency withdrew the permit in November following two lawsuits by environmental groups.
Losing the 3.1 million acres of BLM land cut the area for the derby in half, and also eliminated lower elevation areas likely to have more coyotes and wolves. A coalition of environmental groups, as well as Democratic U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, tried but failed to get the Forest Service to revoke the permit it issued.
“The world is looking at this with a lot of dismay,” said Amy Atwood, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We’re not going to go away and we’re going to keep fighting.”
She said the group has a litigation strategy to prevent another derby but declined to go into details.
The derby last year drew 230 people, about 100 of them hunters, who killed 21 coyotes but no wolves. Alder said the BLM’s revoking the group’s permit might have persuaded more hunters to take part this year. He said 40 hunters from outside Idaho have committed.
He said ranchers have also been contacted in advance so hunters can use that land. Also, he noted, possible wolf sightings are being tracked.
“We’ve heard some reports and we’re trying to pinpoint where those are so we can put in hunters,” he said.
Besides the $1,000 prizes, Alder said, fur buyers will also be available with the potential pay for a black wolf pelt up to $600.
“People love the black ones,” Alder said. “And the pure white. If you can find a big white pelt, that’s beautiful. That’s worth quite a bit.”
The region where the derby is planned is considered a key area for wolves that could grow in number, with some pack members dispersing to surrounding states. At least one Oregon environmental group that would like to see more wolves in that state is involved in the lawsuits against the derby for that reason.
“As we learn more about these animals, the more we’ve come to revere them,” said Atwood. “When you remove them from the landscape it upends the order of things.”
Exposing the Big Game 
Disgusting display of domination for absolutely no reason except senseless murder.
A grand gathering of psychopaths.
I have a great vocabulary, but I can’t think of words vile enough to express how I feel about this.
Sometimes less is more, but maybe not in this case…
Sickening, backward mentality from the dark ages. Is this really the 21st century …..I think NOT!
this is not funny and how can someone have such games?? Is it legal?? where are the animal protection laws???
Yes, unfortunately it’s currently legal in most states. Although contest hunts are now banned in California, animals don’t seem to have any protection laws anywhere else yet. They are seen as objects and any thought of rights is beyond comprehension for most rural Americans.
that is so so sad!! what is peta doing here ??
PETA isn’t getting too involved in wildlife issues yet. Project Coyote and other grass roots groups were responsible for getting contest hunts banned in CA.
omg 😦 my heart goes out to those pretty babies 😦
I leave my comment of disgust, simply to join the others that are outraged against this senseless and barbaric violence. I have signed petitions, over and over, written letters seemingly to no avail. Collectively, we need to work harder, speak louder, cry out loud against this dark age savagery commited by serial animal killers, who to take pleasure in killing wildlife. We need laws and enforcement of laws to stop this. Only new laws will stop this. These killers should not be trusted with small children, pets or the elderly.
…not to mention, with the wildlife.
these people are f#£^~ up maybe we should go hunt those people pricks
They think they have the “right” to do this, while non-human animals have no rights whatsoever.
This is human kind at it’s lowest form. Disgusting mass murder of a beautiful earth essential creature. Human kind is the over population . Yet there is no open hunt on humans. The human kind has done more damage to earth and it’s natural inhabitants than any other species.
Sickened by this idiotic display of graphic murder geared towards the wolves and cyotes.
All creatures are the same and have perfect purpose on this earth. I hope man kind will wake up soon. Realize the way we treat other sentinel creatures on earth has a direct affect on our own life balance.
Yes, these are psychopathic serial killers that we are dealing with. And all the signed petitions, legislative lobbying, and impassioned letters to the editor are not going to stop them. By any objective measure, the current political climate in the United States, history’s ultimate democracy of dunces, strongly indicates that no new laws are going to be passed in the foreseeable future to circumscribe the behavior of these bloodthirsty cretins. The inmates are now, quite literally, running this asylum for the criminally insane. What WOULD help are a handful of “Dexters” roaming the woods to demonstrate in a way that these morons would be able to understand that there can be a cost for exceedingly bad behavior.
I hope that these people end up being bitten. This is cruel and not worth the lives of these poor beasts. Just leave them alone! Does it make them feel “powerful” to cheaply kill an animal from a distance that never intended to harm someone?
These wild animal killers are psychopaths, that must be stopped before there are no more animals in the wild anymore.
Doesn’t help the plight of the wolves, when the politicians are in bed with the hunters.
A radical shake up of these so called politicians would be a start.