Calls for a ban escalate as controversial hunting contests kill more than 60,000 animals a year.

Hunting competitions to kill wild animals such as coyotes (above), bobcats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes for money and prizes are increasingly controversial. Eight states have outlawed them, and legislation introduced recently in Congress aims to ban them on public lands.

BYRENE EBERSOLE

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/how-killing-wildlife-became-a-game

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/how-killing-wildlife-became-a-game

PHOTOGRAPHS BYKARINE AIGNER

PUBLISHED APRIL 27, 2022

•25 MIN READ

LIBERTY, NEW YORKHunkered down in a camouflaged hut at dawn, Timothy Kautz trains his rifle on a deer carcass laid as bait in a snow-covered valley abutted by swamp and forest. Glancing at his cell phone, he reviews a recent remote camera video showing a grayish brown canine with pointy ears, a long, narrow muzzle, and a bushy tail snatching some venison.

So far this February morning, the coyote is a no-show.

“Maybe he’s seen too many of his friends…