UPDATE: Nevada Senate Bill 487 died in the Senate because it did not meet its deadline. Nevada Joint Senate Rules state, “The final standing committee to which a bill or joint resolution is referred in its House of origin may only take action on the bill or joint resolution on or before the 68th calendar day of the legislative session.”
Coyote killing contests have been the subject of bills around the country this year. Nevada is joining this trend with their own bill banning coyote contests and it is arguably the most ridiculous one yet.
Nevada Senate Bill 487 would “make it unlawful to conduct or participate in competitions in which coyotes are taken; requiring a person to transport a coyote that is injured during the course of such a competition to a veterinarian under certain circumstances”. Participating in such contests would be a category D Felony. The penalty is a minimum of 1 year in prison and a maximum of 4 years in prison and a $5000 fine.
Once again, anti-hunters and lawmakers seem to be out of touch with reality. Last year Nevada Department of Wildlife had over 1000 calls about nuisance coyotes. Not only did they attack pets and livestock, but in December of 2018, one attacked a human. It seems obvious that the state needs to be encouraging MORE coyote hunting. Instead, they are discouraging it and threatening hunters with a felony.
“According to the authors of SB 487, killing someone or burning down a house should carry the same penalty as posting on social media about a coyote competition,” said Bruce Tague, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “This is utterly ridiculous and unwarranted. Worse yet, this bill makes each coyote killed a separate violation of the new law, meaning a judge could sentence a violator to many years in prison for killing a species that the state of Nevada is already struggling to control!”
The Sportsmen’s Alliance is a leading force in the battle against anti-hunting campaigns across the united states. “We call on the Nevada Senate to use common sense, to protect their constituents and to reject SB 487,” Tague said.
Nevada Sportsmen, contact your senators and tell them to vote No on SB487.
