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To kill....or not to kill....

ShawshankShawshank Posts: 1,018
edited February 2011 in A Moving Train
Man I'm faced with a bit of dilemma here, and I've been avoiding it for about as long as I can. We have quite a bit of land, along with typical farm animals. Our animals provide us with everything we need. They give us food, fertilizer, and actually do some of our garden work for us. For the last 3 years, we have noticed packs of coyotes getting closer and closer to us. On some nights, it literally sounds like they are in my back yard. Now I'm an animal lover, but coyotes will kill and eat our livestock. No doubt about it. They've also been known to attack small kids in this area. We area also facing a growing problem with feral hogs, and they root up and destroy just about everything in sight, and those too are prone to attack and seriously injure people. I know that eventually I'm going to have to deal with this, but I have never and I do mean, NEVER, killed anything that I didn't use for food. The hogs are not a big deal, because we can process those and use them. The coyotes though, I don't know. Like I said, I just don't like the idea of killing something that we can't use. So this is a real struggle for me in a way, but I know there's really no question as to what has to be done. I was curious what others would do when faced with a similar situation.
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Comments

  • Drowned OutDrowned Out Posts: 6,056
    None of the ranchers I know give a second thought to killing coyotes. My sister's dog was attacked by a pack last year, and I know of a few pets in the area killed by them.
    Its admirable that you only kill out of necessity, but they really are dangerous...I'm unsure if any of those people looked into
    alternative measures to get rid of them, but I would imagine they're territorial, and if left unchecked just become a bigger problem..unfortunately, I think your options are limited..
  • klusterfukklusterfuk Posts: 1,411
    when they become a threat to kids and pets start shooting.
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  • Cool Face RyanCool Face Ryan Posts: 1,254
    Sounds like if you dont do something, youre gonna be in a bind. Kill the coyotes before they give you problems. If anything, shoot one and maybe the others will go away. Hell, play some Creed and maybe theyll get pissed off and go away.
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  • ShawshankShawshank Posts: 1,018
    [quote="manutd3581"Hell, play some Creed and maybe theyll get pissed off and go away.[/quote]

    I'd rather get attacked by the coyotes. :lol::lol:

    No, I know what has to be done. They haven't actually come on our property yet, but it's only a matter of time. When they do, I won't give it a second thought. The adjacent land around us is pretty much untouched, and man those things get spooky loud on a cold night when the moon is full. I sat out one night, just watching the treeline with some night vision goggles and didn't see them, but I could hear them so clearly.
  • zarocatzarocat Posts: 1,901
    Ask someone else to take on the task for you.
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  • Godfather.Godfather. Posts: 12,504
    you're dealing with the wild,they know nothing other than survival and if it means killing and eating your livestock they will,if they get too close to your house you had better shoot before they hurt anyone in your family.
    coyotes hunt in packs and they're very good at it they will even use on of the pack as a decoy to draw another
    animal away so that the pack can corner and attack so the best thing to do is to use your own survival instincts
    to protect your family and cattle, yes shoot !

    Godfather.
  • he still standshe still stands Posts: 2,835
    where I grew up we always had coyotes around... most nights you could hear them. But, I've never once heard of them attacking a human. It might be different in your area. Regardless, I think that without human there is no natural predator for coyotes and they will become overpopulated without a proper thinning. Then they would be very dangerous to animals and possibly humans as food grows more scarce. Not to mention that disease would increase within the coyote population. It sucks that there is no "use" for them but I think you've gotta pull the trigger once they are a threat to livestock.
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  • CosmoCosmo Posts: 12,225
    Well... at least you have a conscience about it.
    One thing to consider is this... what would the impact of the loss of the coyotes? I ask this because coyotes don't just eat your livestock, they eat rabbits, gophers, rats and mice... and lot of them. If they were to disappear, would you be put in a situation where you have to deal with a problem with rats and mice infesting your feed storage? Your stables? Your home?
    I'm just saying that with every solution comes 10 more problems. That is why the solution you decide on is probably not the easiest one to execute.
    ...
    Whatever you do... I hope it works out.
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  • ShawshankShawshank Posts: 1,018
    Cosmo wrote:
    Well... at least you have a conscience about it.
    One thing to consider is this... what would the impact of the loss of the coyotes? I ask this because coyotes don't just eat your livestock, they eat rabbits, gophers, rats and mice... and lot of them. If they were to disappear, would you be put in a situation where you have to deal with a problem with rats and mice infesting your feed storage? Your stables? Your home?
    I'm just saying that with every solution comes 10 more problems. That is why the solution you decide on is probably not the easiest one to execute.
    ...
    Whatever you do... I hope it works out.

    This is one thing I've considered. Although, our farm cats, and our dogs tend to control those pest populations pretty well. To be honest, I've been trying to think of any solution, but short of erecting a half million dollars worth of fencing, I can't see that I have much choice. And yes, I definitely have a conscience about it.
  • TriggerTrigger Posts: 16
    Coyotes aren't THAT dangerous. They do occasionally kill livestock and there are cases of them attacking and/or killing people. I don't believe they are an animal to be overly scared of.

    I don't see anything wrong with killing them if they are threatening your livestock. However you will never be able to kill all of them. And coyotes have a breeding response when their numbers are thinned... meaning they bang like rabbits to fill the space left by the dead coyotes.
  • SmellymanSmellyman Asia Posts: 4,524
    I like to kill things preemptively even if they never cause problems. I go all Bush on them.
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