Nevada SB487 Killing Coyote=Felony
General Topic
Just when you think no state is crazier than California this happens.
A completely ridiculous bill was introduced to the Nevada state senate that would treat participants in a coyote hunting contest the same as someone convicted of manslaughter. Yes, you read that right taking part in a coyote hunting contest would be legally treated the same as killing a human.
According to the Sportsmen’s Alliance, on March 25, the Nevada Senate Committee on Natural Resources introduced Senate Bill 487, which would ban competitions where coyotes are killed for prizes or entertainment.
The new law would be a Class D Felony that carries a mandatory prison term of 1-4 years and a possible fine of up to $5,000. Other crimes that carry a Class D felony punishment in Nevada include involuntary manslaughter and arson.
Not only would participants be charged, but the mere promotion of a contest would be considered criminal. In essence, a simple Facebook post could violate the law. Also, the writing of the bill is vague enough that even a friendly wager could be construed as a violation. This bill is crazy beyond all measure.
“According to the authors of SB 487, killing someone or burning down a house should carry the same penalty as posting on social media about a coyote competition,” said Bruce Tague, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “This is utterly ridiculous and unwarranted. Worse yet, this bill makes each coyote killed a separate violation of the new law, meaning a judge could sentence a violator to many years in prison for killing a species that the state of Nevada is already struggling to control!”
“It’s well known that animal-rights groups view the life of an animal as equal to that of a human being. But it’s an outrage that Nevada legislators would go down the same path when they know that coyotes are public safety threat that are only increasing” said Tague. “Instead, legislators are contemplating a bill that would make commonplace hunting practices for an overpopulated species, which threaten pets, livestock and people, a felony and would imprison sportsmen, strip away their Second Amendment and voting rights, and put wildlife management on the same plane as human murder – which, of course, is how animal-rights activists view it. We call on the Nevada Senate to use commonsense, to protect their constituents and to reject SB 487.”
The penalty is beyond batcrap crazy but the last thing hunting needs is to to be associated with organized killing contest it’s like something out of some futuristic movie.
If you want to kill coyotes go kill as many as you’re allowed as an individual Hunter but being part of a whack them and stack them public display is disgusting
Anyone who believes that could be done in today’s society without bringing a black eye to the sport is tone deaf and delusional
"Hunting" and "Contest" should never be in the same sentence. Dumb idea. IMO.
My feelings exactly with these tv shows pitting deer hunter teams against each other.
"Hunting and contest should never be in the same sentence" Neither should hunting and sport. That said, I don't care who kills what as long as it's legal, and as of now varmint contests are legal here and probably will be for years, until the transplant liberals and the anchor babies finally rule the state.
Be careful what you agree with when it comes to liberals, give them an inch and they’ll take 100 miles !! They are getting their foot in the door for sure.
'Be careful what you agree with when it comes to liberals, give them an inch and they’ll take 100 miles !! They are getting their foot in the door for sure. ' is that one way of saying one side needs to be as radical, fanatical, irrational, and deaf as the other?
"They are getting their foot in the door for sure. ' is that one way of saying one side needs to be as radical, fanatical, irrational, and deaf as the other?"
"Pretty sure that's NOT what he said.
"Hunting" and "Contest" should never be in the same sentence. Dumb idea. IMO."
Better make sure all the local archery shops and gun stores pull all their "Big Buck" contests? And our very own PA Forum 5C Doe Hunt's largest doe contest should be stopped as well.
"Better make sure all the local archery shops and gun stores pull all their "Big Buck" contests? And our very own PA Forum 5C Doe Hunt's largest doe contest should be stopped as well."
I didn't say any of it should be outlawed or stopped. I said it's a dumb idea, IMO.
To me it’s step one in the anti hunting agenda. They eliminate coyote hunting contest and the hunting community agrees with them but we can still kill them with a rifle with your friends , we can still trap them or shoot them with a bow but we all agree a contest on govt land is somehow wrong. What happens when they decide any form of killing a coyote has to stop do we say ... you know what you’re right again ? I live in NM, it’s full of coyotes and plenty of govt land to hunt and trap them but guess what it’s now against the law to have a so called contest on state land but we can still shoot the hell out of them “for now” and they want to also outlaw all trapping on govt land. I’m sure it’s the killing of them and not the term.... coyote contest .....Once they see we are soft they will go all out just like they are on guns in NM... never thought I’d see the day NM govt was anti gun but it’s here and they don’t seem to have a whole lot of challengers.... Where are the Regulators when you need them ?
For those that NEVER want to compromise, you better be sure you can WIN. From a Jaquomo post on the Colorado site: "...CUB was pretty open about putting the bear initiative on the ballot if the CWC didn't compromise. It was initially about spring hunting. We could have kept fall baiting but the CWC basically challenged them to bring it to a vote. So they rolled everything they could into the wording except for an outright ban."
I, for one, would sure like to at least have fall baiting. While the antis may not outnumber us, we will NEVER outspend them. Evidently, their agenda means more to them than ours means to us. It's all about perception and emotion and reaching the largely ignorant voter who is easily swayed by a glitzy media blitz - whether it's accurate or not. Hunters have NO equal to their fund raising, nor any association that comes close, singly or all together. We are always on the defensive, trying to beat them AFTER they bring the fight to us.
lots of hysteria, over the word contests etc,,,, we are now living in another world,,,, I agree with some here, when it comes to deer, these nationwide money contests, pushed by the outdoor tv industry, is not good. Just saw one sponsored by Bone Collector, a nationwide, big buck contest, that top prize is 50,000.00 More like Bone Heads in my opinion.....
Where I live the yote hunts and rabbit hunts are a sense of old school values, and friendship, and a social get together. If there is a prize its a small amount in the pot, or a shotgun or something like that, small scale stuff, that most urbanized people now do not understand......
as for Colorado as an example of losing their spring bear hunting, and being trapping restrictive, it was not so much the money, but social politics, and a fish and wild life bureau, that uses more political science, and wild life science, and in that regards many states fish and game, are not all that hunting friendly either, no matter what they say
I use to love simple honest hunting and fishing shows, like the American Sportsman, or Gaddabout Gaddis, or maybe Fred Bear films etc. I said when TV hunting was coming, it will start to ruin, the idea of what hunting really is.............
Today its hunting couples, hunting on their land and jumping up and down, when they kill something, yelling "oh goody", or we have men hunters, who put on face camo like they are "batman",,,,, than the crying, and the "oh lords", after awhile it gets to be too much......
There is quality out there, like Eastman, and Shockey, but since now everyone can put on a show, too many idiots out there, who just look stupid,,,,,,
This bill does not surprise me.... In Wisconsin you have Fred Risser, an old commie politician introducing the same thing, but in Wisconsin their is more stronger organization to kill it, I doubt that exists out in Nevada,,,,
It’s amazing how fragile some of you guys are. Contests have been around since the beginning of man. Getting together and making a wager on who can call and kill the most coyotes shouldn’t trigger anyone, much less “hunters”. I get in a contest or two per year and I promise you the coyotes killed those days are a fraction of what the hunters kill. Most of the pelts are sold and I’ve never heard of anyone where I live being triggered like some of you guys on a hunting site. No wonder hunters are fighting an uphill battle. Maybe instead of hunting in a contest I could shoot a cat out of a tree. Ehh Bou?
When hunters refuse to police themselves, others will be more than happy to do it for us.
Bou, Midwest, and JRW summed it up pretty well for me; it’s unfortunate that there are hunters who feel we need to support every dumb decision that other hunters make such as bad social media photos and videos, and pointless contests. Half of the “bad press” hunters are getting comes from stupid decisions within our own ranks. I support people making smart decisions for hunting rather than everyone supporting the dumb decisions of a few. The long term prospects are much better that way.
Lost man, anyone that’s not for a legal “contest” is likely someone that’s not for your preferred method or animal of hunting regardless of how secretive you are about it. I agree putting things on Facebook is probably not the best strategy but then again bowsite is the only social media I participate in. Some would call Newbergs drowning of swamp rats poor taste or even more so to put it on YouTube. I think it’s just fine as so do a few that commented on how bad contests are. There’s a fine line when you start choosing between traps, cats treed by dogs and calling coyotes. You can draw a line where you want but I know where I stand.
Link, I think the point is that defending the lowest common denominator may not be in the best interests of our pastime. I used to like the big tent...until I got tired of the stench.
Apology accepted ohiohunter
Well said LINK. Quick someone say mountain lion so Bou will disappear.
"Link, I think the point is that defending the lowest common denominator may not be in the best interests of our pastime"
Back during the War Between the States, the troops would use the split rail fences for campfires to cook on. The farmers complained enough that a rule was passed that only the top rail could be used. So the troops used only the top rails of the fence for fire wood. Then the next night they would go gather the top rails again. And the next night it was only the top rails. And the next night....
There will always be a "lowest common denominator" and a top rail. The antis will not rest until they have burned the whole fence one rail at a time.
Dang that’s crazy. The anti hunting agenda is slowly chipping away. Start with predators and working towards deer and elk.
I've done a few coyote contests. Had a lot of fun. We had some protesters at one. They didnt realize that after checking in Friday, everyone is gone until Sunday afternoon. They hung around the small town trying to garner support for their cause but eventually gave up and drove back to Boulder. The mayor was scooping chili for us at the awards dinner and the city attorney brought a huge batch of homemade brownies. She was single and quit a looker as well.
people don't have to do everything they have the right to do and having the right to do something does not make doing that something right. we can choose to raise the bar that may otherwise be held lower than it should be.
Wow! Everything about this law and punishment is ridiculously absurd. Not sure how a free man could support or defend it in any manner.
Bou I think plenty of us have an idea where you bar is.... That said first it’s coyotes, then it’s bears over bait, then it’s bear and cats with dogs, then it’s all trapping, next is wolf and grizz reintroduction. You can set your “bar” where you’d like, it’s obvious to everyone it moves to suite you anyways.
Salagi I agree with your anology.
“ The antis will not rest until they have burned the whole fence one rail at a time.”
Why give them the first rail? Your willing to give them the first rail then think, because of your generosity and self policing, they won't come for the second. Your just moving their starting point closer to their goal. What baffles me is this isn’t about coyotes, it’s about contests. States are legalizing pot left and right and hunters are eating their own over someone saying let’s get together and all hunt coyotes on the same day. Smh
I don't think anyone here is giving anyone a "rail". Just because someone doesn't support sponsored hunting "contests" doesn't mean they want it banned. The bill is ridiculous and I would never support it.
I don't support high fence hunting, either, but I support private property rights.
Neither affects me personally so have at it if that trips your trigger. I just feel they are both bad PR for hunting. IMO.
"IF they can make laws that forbid our legal participation we should make laws protecting our right to participate."
If you think that's possible ohiohunter, get it on the ballot and we'll see what happens.
Many states have passed right to hunt laws. At this time, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming all also have a right to hunt and fish guaranteed in the state constitution.
Isn't all scoring of deer a contest? Phrase it however you want, when an anti brings it up, it's a contest. So when they eliminate coyote contests, scoring deer isn't a far reach.
The analogy of the fence is well said. I'm not personally a trapper, nor have I personally participated in coyote contests. Both are portrayed in a bad light by antis and the general public can be turned off by them.
But the antis will never quit. It's not like if we agree "ok, no more coyote contests" the fight is over. The antis will just start hammering on the next easiest target (the next rail). We need to stick together rather than be apathetic when the target is "only" something we don't participate in. I think we are going to lose everything eventually. I can't see the fight ever ending. The antis will never quit...
Remember the antis don’t just say .... great, thanks guys ...they are wanting a contest to become a FELONY. We are concerned we will offend liberals and they are wanting us to do hard time .
That’s one of my favorites Ohio.
Guess they were trying to get ahead of the big deal in Texas with the West Texas Big Bobcat Contest. It's grown into a huge success paying BIG money!
The contest I’ve been in usually cost $200 to enter and pay $3000 to the winning team. I’ve been in a few that paid 5-6k. There are people that get in every year and never have a prayer at winning. Most guys get in for the excitement the “competition” adds then the fun of going to a check-in to rehash the highs and the lows of the day with everyone there. Guns, calls, optics are raffled off to contestants. It’s an all around good time, better when you place in the money. The atmosphere would be akin to the evenings at a big deer camp.
The guys that hunt in them usually kill 4-5 coyotes that day but kill 30+ in a winter. There’s no bounty, no ones hunting them to extinction. Contests have been going on where I live for the last 15 years and coyote populations are near all time highs.
Link. Those 'right to hunt' laws are not all encompassing. They are subject to management concerns, and many other considerations. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't cover these types of competitions. Like the 2nd amendment, there are restrictions. When the 2nd was written, everyone - private citizens and the government, had pretty much the same weapons at their disposal, as long as they could afford them. Not so much any more.
I'm not saying the bill reported on by the OP is a good idea. It is very poorly written, and could be interpreted to include almost anything. But I also don't agree with "wack em and stack em" type shoots. The optics to the non-hunting public are just not worth the "fun". It's not why most of us hunt, and it's just not worth stirring up the general population. It just plays into the rhetoric of the antis as portraying hunters as bloodthirsty killers, and there is no way to defend it to our advantage.
"Many states have passed right to hunt laws. At this time, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming all also have a right to hunt and fish guaranteed in the state constitution."
And right now WI is debating the very same type bill mentioned in this thread.
https://www.wsaw.com/content/news/Proposed-law-would-ban-all-hunting-contests-in-Wisconsin-505594501.html
It's paying $50k+ for a one day hunt in TX! The coyote and fox divisions pay $6-8k I believe. Some guys bring in 50-60 coyotes and/or foxes in 24 hrs! Have to have 5 of either to even qualify to enter a cat. This is a HUGE wildlife benefit! Countless animals live and some even get to be taken by sportsmen because of this one contest!
When ANYONE makes a law that you can't gather together, have a party, even a contest.... involving any legal endeavor.... and someone thinks that's just peachy because they don't like it.... I don't know what to tell them about history and how it all turns out when you go down that path. They're fine with Nazis..... as long as they are THEIR Nazis. Our Constitutional Rights exist for one reason.... to protect the citizens FROM their government. It doesn't GRANT rights authorized by the government, it says what government has to stay out of.... they are God given rights, not government granted. That's it... that's all.... and critically important in the experiment of freedom that so far has created the greatest country that has ever existed in the history of mankind. That's not a little thing. And too many quasi-nazis have taken such a unique event in human history for granted. If that sounds a bit to brash and grandiose of statement for some..... then one should brush up on their history......
You have a right to free association. Constitutional. And you have a right to participate in legal actions and activity. That somebody wants to have a contest and others want to participate (it's not gambling, the raffles and drawings are likely closer to gambling than the contest).
Sounds like fun to me. I may not pony up any money for the contest but the event would be a blast I bet, love to go to one sometime.
Would the citiots have a fit over a rat killing contest?
These people should not only be told no..... they need to be told off.....
Coyotes first then Gopher hunting contest then what fishing next? Ridiculous
"...you have a right to participate in legal actions and activity."
Your point? "They" are about to make it illegal. Your options? Stop them in court. How much time and money do you want to spend?
Many of you are like 4 year olds. You want what you want. Unfortunately, the real world doesn't work that way. Many things are "legal" - until they're not. They become illegal when enough people think they should be illegal. It's how the system works. You can scream, and jump up and down like an idiot, demanding your rights, which gets you exactly no where. Or you can put on your big boy pants and work within the system, or change the system. Either way, it takes a LOT more work and $$$$, then just pissing and moaning on the internet.
in much of the country coyotes aren't worth anything, as far as their fur goes, so contests are a tool to get people out in the field hunting them. Otherwise, not much incentive to do so, for lots of folks. Coyote numbers need to be controlled some how.
THE BILL WAS REMOVED FROM THE AGENDA
Well thank God! Like I have always said, if you give up one potion of your constitutional rights, they Will Slowly but Damn sure every time, come for another one! I say it every time a post like this comes up... We Are and Always Will Be Our Own Worst Enemy!!!
If ALL HUNTERS don't unite and fight, there will be no hunting! Gentlemen, WE ARE LOSING!!!! Day by day, week by week and so on... Oh you hunt with a long range rifle, you aren't a "Real" hunter! I call BS! We need to support each other even if we don't like the method of take. If it's legal, we should all support it and fight for it!
If we don't, we will lose!
My "point" is you DO go and do something. Obviously somebody DID to have the bill pulled. Folks normally do raise their voices ("piss and moan") in opposition to something.... ya know, before they oppose it... this looks like it was stopped pretty much by enough people "pissing and moaning" and making themselves heard.... without any court. If you're having to go to court to fight something that means not ENOUGH people let others know they were upset. It's too late.... instead of pressure, litigation is all you have left.
You're other options are roll over on your back in submission or hide and think maybe if they don't see you they will walk on by.... but these folks aren't walking on by. Personally more folks need to get a bit more agitated when others are trying not only take away constitutional rights but criminalize their very lifestyle.
I'm a life-long Nevadan. Shot many yotes in my day, but never was in a contest; my thoughts on those are pretty much like my views on modern hunting shows... they portray us in a bad light. Images and videos are the anti's stock-in-trade and they use them most effectively. Know this, non-hunters make up the majority of voters who ultimately dictate policy. They see this stuff and they see a bill such as that open ended POS that some Las Vegas democrat crafted, and see nothing wrong with it.
That said, I wrote opposition letters to the sponsors of that bill and voiced my opposition on several state base forums. Like Gil above, I heard that there was so many letters, this now socialist run state shut it down....bravo! These people must not be allowed to put their foot in the door. If they do, they need to fight for every inch to get their anti hunting agenda through.
This state used to be pretty red and considered a swing state for national elections. Outside liberal money and coordinated DNC funding and tactics has given us a governing body that is more than 3/4 democrat. Hunters and conservatives alike are literally under siege from more than 1200 bills generated by these people. Mind your states people...as mentioned above give an inch, they take miles.
Dang that’s crazy. The anti hunting agenda is slowly chipping away. Start with predators and working towards deer and elk.
"Hunting and contest should never be in the same sentence"
Well, I feel the same way about Fishing..... That being said it is a stupid proposal.
That bill just shows how out of touch the legislature and the general public can be with reality! : (
Coyote Hunts in PA have been BIG for years! I never have participated in an organized hunt, but they are very popular as you can see in this article. I have no problem with any of these contests and will not shy away if someone questions me about them. THey are no different than a big buck contest or any of the organized fishing tournaments. Why is it different just because it's a coyote???!!!
Buck contests are not a slaughterfest. One buck. Fishing is catch and release
"The undisputed champion of organized coyote hunts in Pennsylvania, Mosquito Creek Sportsmen's Association in Frenchville is expected to again this year - its 27th annual on February 16-18 - register the most hunters and give out the biggest prizes. In 2017, the hunt drew 4,634 hunters and awarded $9,268, $5,560 and $3,707 for the three heaviest coyotes among the 210 coyotes weighed-in by hunters."
I would NOT call 210 coyotes for well over 4500 participants a "slaughterfest"!
I’m giving that one a LIKE.
A convicted poacher accusing people of slaughter. SMH
Well, except that killing as many of them as possible (in order to win money) IS the whole point of the exercise. The guys who didn’t kill any are not people who were waiting for a shot at one that would be “big enough” to be a contender.
A Big Buck contest - if you think you can win - is SELECTIVE by nature. A coyote/prairie dog/whatever KILLING contest is about whackin’ & stackin’ and who gives a rip about a clean kill or any of that “ethics” stuff.
I’m not saying that coyotes don’t need to be managed, but trapping seems to be a lot better bet.
GF- the prize money goes out to the 3 BIGGEST coyotes, so it IS just like the big buck contest. There is no prize for MOST coyotes killed.
Glad to hear that the bill was withdrawn.
Some here don't know much about trapping so I'll clear up a common misunderstanding by nontrappers. Most traps allow the trapper to release unwanted animals. So ohiohunter's statement that, "trapping is stacking them as high and deep as you can, every dog is another dollar", is inaccurate.
I think I've released at least 3 dogs from snares. Including my own once and including a big shepard mix. Never had a reason to release a coyote but I could have.
Hey Bou someone should have told you hunting mountain lions with dogs is also "catch and release" bet you wished you'd have released.
Dogs don't fight a snare like a wild animal. Typically, they are just sitting there or curled up asleep. The shepard mix was pretty pissed. Had to use a pole snare on him to pin his head down while I cut the snare. I always used a big, relaxing cable lock.
Ohiohunter: I've caught 3/4 of mine with foot traps, only 1/4 in snares. The snare is almost always deadly on a coyote, unless it tightens up on the animal's shoulder. I was talking about the foot traps when I said they could be released. I wasn't talking to you specifically. I was talking to lots of hunters on here that may not know much about trapping. Lots of hunters don't know much about trapping.
A few years ago a military buddy of mine from CO was hunting on my farm and I showed him one of my sets. Then I tapped it with the tip of my boot and the trap sprung. He came unglued and thought I was going to lose my foot. My point is that most nonhunters and lots of hunters don't realize that foot traps simply hold an animal, rarely injuring it, until the trapper comes back to check. Then the trapper has the choice of killing it or turning it loose, depending whether it was a target or nontarget animal.
As Midwest pointed out with a snare, it's only the wildest animals that get hurt in most trapping scenarios.
FYI snares are legal in Ohio! Pg 31
ohiohunter: A friend of mine traps mountain lions where he lives in NM.
