What happens in a "Killing Contest?"
This year’s Bill, as did the one in 2020, also includes a prohibition of wanton waste. Wanton waste is defined as “the act of intentionally leaving a wounded or killed animal in the field or forest without making a reasonable effort to retrieve and render it for consumption or use.” This is an important part of this Bill since, much like what happens in wildlife killing contests, there are unethical hunters that consider predators “varmints” and don’t consume or use any part of the animal.
In 2020 we introduced a Bill similar to this year’s Bill. That Bill passed the Senate Committee but before cross over to the House COVID interrupted all legislative action and all Bills were tabled.
On any given weekend, some of America’s most iconic wild animals are massacred in wildlife killing contests. Bloodied bodies are weighed and stacked like cords of wood, and prizes are awarded to the “hunters” who kill the largest or the most of a targeted species.
Coyotes, bobcats, wolves and foxes are common victims of these contests; children as young as 10 are encouraged to participate. Fueled by anti-predator bias, these legally sanctioned but relatively unknown contests are cruel and foster ignorance about the critical role apex predators play in maintaining healthy ecosystems.
In KILLING GAMES, a groundbreaking exposé, actor, conservationist and Project Coyote Advisory Board Member Peter Coyote — with environmentalists, ranchers, public officials and Native Americans — brings these shadowy contests to light and speaks out against this hidden war on wildlife. Project Coyote’s KILLING GAMES inspires viewers to call on their state and local legislators to bring an end to these brutal contests where wild animals become living targets.
If you would like to learn more about this barbaric activity you can check out one of these versions of “KILLING GAMES“: