Shooting a coyote while wild turkey hunting

[DGearyFTE]

I can't believe this has rambled on for eight pages. For God's sake, someone please call 705.755.2000 and ask to speak to Enforcement.

Ah... come on Fenelon. If we were to do that it would take all the fun out of it.

On the serious side, good post. I agree with your opinion to a point. There are times that the luxury of waiting until next season is not available i.e. a farmer really doesn't care a lick about coyotes if the newborn family is parked in his area and they are dining on his liverstock.

[redd foxx]

Redd Foxx, where in the hand book does it have this info you posted. I'm sure it's there, I just can't find it.

http://www.ontario.ca/laws

Go to this link and search for the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. It has the act and all the regulations as well. Also any other Provincial law you'd like to read!!

[greatwhite]

So the year around open season in many WMU's is a misprint or do you say the same for ground hog and crow hunting? Some of the properties I hunt the landowners want Yotes shot on sight.

I can't believe this has rambled on for eight pages. For God's sake, someone please call 705.755.2000 and ask to speak to Enforcement. You'll have your answer in two minutes, and most importantly, it will be coming from the folks that will be potentially laying the charges in the field.
IMO, If I went turkey hunting with a friend who decided it was time to blast away at coyotes while I'm sitting for turkey, there would be a 15 minute blast of solid profanity from me, and it would be the last time I turkey hunted with that person. As a trapper, I see them as a valuable furbearer, and see no logic in taking the animal unless the pelt is prime. Predator/varmint argument aside, there's some major ethics in this picture too. The coyotes have recently whelped. No living animal deserves to be intentionally starved to death, I don't care if it's a rat. Nothing deserves that. I don't see an inhumane act like that as being acceptable collateral damage for saving a predated deer fawn. Learn how to put up fur well, then shoot them in mid-October, to the end of February, when the pelts are worth $55.

[jim]

I believe you are required by law, to kill every coyote you see.

[trimmer21]

My info (lawyer-Crown Law Office-also my friend) is that it's legal to have both a rifle and a shotgun when hunting Coyotes,but,not legal when hunting Turkey unless the rifle is encased because rifles may NOT be used to hunt Wild Turkey. As for the question of ethics of shooting Coyotes as varmints,IMHO,everyone has a right to an opinion,but,should never be condemned for them. Farmers on whose land I have permission to hunt want their numbers controlled/reduced because of the damage they cause. As a dedicated varmint/predator hunter my entire life,I'm only too happy to oblige. Diffrent strokes for different folks,especially when it's absolutely legal.

[Fenelon]

So the year around open season in many WMU's is a misprint or do you say the same for ground hog and crow hunting? Some of the properties I hunt the landowners want Yotes shot on sight.

It all boils down to your own set of personal ethics - your own personal views on compassion, respect and treatment of another living creature, etc. You make your own bed, so it's up to you individually at the end of the day to do an assessment, on how you feel and treat animals. I remember when I used to do a lot of nuisance beaver removal, making pretty good money during the peak spring and fall months. The animals were definitely causing problems, plugging culverts, flooding roads, washing-out shoulders, etc. I broke my own rules and trapped a well-established beaver colony in early June, knowing that the adult female would have recently whelped. The next day, I could hear her pups crying in the house as I removed her from a 330 conibear. Two days later they were still crying/whimpering, so I spent 45 minutes with a pick and axe, digging-out the house so I could euthanize the pups. $65 (fee for removing the beaver) doesn't cover how I felt after that. Maybe it's an age thing, I don't know, but my attitudes towards how I see wildlife has changed over the years. As a kid, I used to shoot pile of groundhogs, as that was the acceptednorm for a rural kid, and the attitude was that a dead varmint was a positive thing. It used to be you'd look out into a 100 acre hay field, and you'd see 10 hogs. Yes. there were legitimate beefs back then with damage to haying equipment, etc. Been around cattle and horses my entire life, and have yet to see a single animal break a leg from a hog burrow. Then coyotes arrived on the landscape in the late 70's/early 80's. Goodbye ground hogs. It's now almost a treat now to see a hog in the area I live. I personally see no sense in shooting what's left now, as they're serving a better cause ecologically by being in that hayfield. I'll leave them to feed the raptors and fox pups (that will bring me $50 in the fall), eat the perennial weeds, and aerate the soil.

[krakadawn]

It all boils down to your own set of personal ethics - your own personal views on compassion, respect and treatment of another living creature, etc. You make your own bed, so it's up to you individually at the end of the day to do an assessment, on how you feel and treat animals. I remember when I used to do a lot of nuisance beaver removal, making pretty good money during the peak spring and fall months. The animals were definitely causing problems, plugging culverts, flooding roads, washing-out shoulders, etc. I broke my own rules and trapped a well-established beaver colony in early June, knowing that the adult female would have recently whelped. The next day, I could hear her pups crying in the house as I removed her from a 330 conibear. Two days later they were still crying/whimpering, so I spent 45 minutes with a pick and axe, digging-out the house so I could euthanize the pups. $65 (fee for removing the beaver) doesn't cover how I felt after that. Maybe it's an age thing, I don't know, but my attitudes towards how I see wildlife has changed over the years. As a kid, I used to shoot pile of groundhogs, as that was the acceptednorm for a rural kid, and the attitude was that a dead varmint was a positive thing. It used to be you'd look out into a 100 acre hay field, and you'd see 10 hogs. Yes. there were legitimate beefs back then with damage to haying equipment, etc. Been around cattle and horses my entire life, and have yet to see a single animal break a leg from a hog burrow. Then coyotes arrived on the landscape in the late 70's/early 80's. Goodbye ground hogs. It's now almost a treat now to see a hog in the area I live. I personally see no sense in shooting what's left now, as they're serving a better cause ecologically by being in that hayfield. I'll leave them to feed the raptors and fox pups (that will bring me $50 in the fall), eat the perennial weeds, and aerate the soil.

Very well said Fenelon, I am in total agreement with you. I have been very clear about the ethics that should be inherent with the things that we do....ethics are different than opinions. I do not fault others for a different view but find fault in their understanding in the matter as a whole especially with the rationalization used.

The whole argument about being a self appointed saviour for deer grows very thin with their responses. You want to shoot coyotes????? Have it but think about it during the times Fenelon describes.

At a field trial this weekend I mentioned to a close friend of many years who is a leading outfitter for wolf hunting in the north about the numerous responses in this thread. He commented about the total lack of understanding with several of the issues involved. When I mentioned to him that I have suggested that if you shoot a coyote now then be prepared to find the den and finish the job. His answer was very swift.....these guys couldn't find a den. His point was very clear.

I've mentioned before that most if not all the hardest running coyote hunters in this province see it this way also notwithstanding some exceptions.

Fenelon is spot on....it just comes down to one's personal set of ethics and to that end it is obvious that there is a significant difference.

[redd foxx]

Good post Fenelon!!...

[greatwhite]

Your tagging an large number of fellas including Trappers and Guides on here with that comment. Your friend I'm guessing is the only expert in the country.

these guys couldn't find a den. His point was very clear.

[jaycee]

Your tagging an large number of fellas including Trappers and Guides on here with that comment. Your friend I'm guessing is the only expert in the country.

Maybe if you are around and grow a little older and mature , your outlook perhaps may change.

Myself and many others , whole heartedly agree with Fenelons post and Krakadawns response.