Help End Coyote Killing Contests for Good

HB 2728, legislation to prohibit cruel, irresponsible, and wasteful coyote killing contests, has been reintroduced in the 2021 Oregon Legislative Session!

As you may recall, similar bills were introduced in past Oregon Legislative Sessions, one even passed the Oregon House in 2020 with strong bipartisan support, but ultimately that bill died in the Oregon Senate because of the Senate Republican walk out. That’s why Representative Brad Witt (Oregon Legislative Sportsmen Caucus Co-Chair & House Natural Resources Committee) has reintroduced HB 2728 as unfinished business in need of immediate action by the 2021 Legislative Session.

For the coyotes targeted in these unconscionable killing contests, the passage of HB 2728 this session is the difference between life and death from a cruel and wasteful practice designed to reward and incentivize people to kill as many coyotes as possible indiscriminately. Please help us shine a light on coyote killing contests by reminding your state representatives that this bill is important to you as a constituent and voter!

Lone coyote standing in tall grass
Photo by Shelly Prevost

Three Ways to Take Action!

  1. Please contact your Oregon State Representative and urge them to support HB 2728, legislation to end cruel and wasteful contests that reward people for mass killing as many coyotes as possible for the chance to win cash and prizes.
      • You only need to write a brief message. Remember to make it personal, you aren’t expected to be an expert. See talking points below.  
  2. Please share this far and wide especially to friends, relatives and colleagues on the east side of the cascades!
  3. Please share our Facebook post on the issue. Be sure to tag your friends and family in Oregon!

Find Your Oregon State Representative

Talking Points

Please support and actively champion HB 2728, legislation to prohibit gruesome and wasteful coyote killing contests, in which participants compete for cash & prizes for killing indiscriminately the most coyotes within a certain time period.

  • HB 2728 has bi-partisan legislative support and is perfectly aligned with Oregon’s values, the best available science, and broad public support.
  • Neighboring states of Washington and California have already banned these unethical and irresponsible contests. It’s time for Oregon to do the same.
  • This issue is not about the urban-rural divide. Oregon’s wildlife is managed in trust for all Oregonians and it is a grave violation of the state’s duty to allow individuals to wantonly kill Oregon’s wildlife, a public resource, as part of a cruel blood contest.
  • Coyote killing contests violate the spirit and tenets of responsible stewardship, ethical sportsmanship, and respect for the public’s wildlife.
  • Science proves that randomly killing coyotes can increase conflicts with livestock and even increase coyote numbers. These events also cast Oregon’s ethical hunters in a bad light.
  • In the last year, more than 500 coyotes have been cruelly and indiscriminately killed in coyote killing contests in Oregon. In fact, in January 2021, more than 272 coyotes were gruesomely and irresponsibly killed in a two-day killing contest that occurred in Southeast Oregon.
  • In short, HB 2728 is good for farmers, good for hunters, and good for wildlife.

Thank you for your fierce persistence to ensure that this is the year we ban coyote killing contests once and for all.