Coyotes and Predator Control Part 2
Last time we covered the period in Missouri where bounties were paid on coyotes. After several years of research by the Department of Conservation that had been formed in 1936, the Missouri legislature decided to stop appropriating money to Missouri’s counties to pay coyote bounties. The goal of controlling coyote populations by encouraging the public to kill them hadn’t produced the desired results. Even the practice of digging up coyotes in their dens and killing the pups for bounties had been encouraged, but still the coyotes persisted and helped themselves to pigs, chickens, sheep and other livestock.
In 1971, there were 141,000 farms in Missouri. It was estimated at the time that uncontrolled predator losses could, run as high as 15 to 25 million dollars annually. That figured out to about 2 % of Missouri’s overall agricultural production. A problem of some significance.
When the US Fish and Wildlife Service trapping program proved inadequate, a different method was employed for a while. In Dan Dickniete’s 1973, A BRIEF HISTORY OF EXTENSION PREDATOR CONTROL IN MISSOURI, he says, “For a short time a coyote hunter who used dogs was hired to answer some of the complaints of damage in counties that the government trappers could not service. He would organize interested groups of farmers and sportsmen, locate animals and drive them towards men stationed with guns at coyote crossings. While this technique had much public appeal and afforded a spectacular performance, it failed to reduce reported damage to any significant extent.” I expect a good time was had by all while the hunt was going on. Similar coyote drives were organized by local groups and occasionally involved a big social gathering afterwards.
The dog hunters service was provided free for a year and a half, but when it was proposed to share the cost 50/50 with the counties, no counties were interested.
Next week we will talk about the extension trapping program that finally gave landowners a tool that helped.
Next week we will talk about the extension trapping program that finally gave landowners a tool that helped.
