State and National Organizations Call for Cancellation of Event and a Statewide Ban on Wildlife Killing Contests

BURNS, Ore. — State and national conservation and animal welfare organizations havesent a letter to the Oregon Farm Bureau requesting cancellation of the upcoming Young Farmers & Ranchers (YFR) 1st Annual Coyote Hunting Tournament in Burns, and asking for support of a statewide ban on wildlife killing contests in Oregon. The letter was sent in advance of the YFR Leadership Conference that took place last weekend in Redmond.

Wildlife killing contests, in which participants compete for cash and prizes for killing the heaviest or greatest number of the targeted species, are a gruesome spectacle, akin to a blood sport like dogfighting and cockfighting. While this event is advertised as a coyote killing contest, often foxes, bobcats, and in some Western states, even mountain lions and wolves are targeted in such events. A…