Does anyone have any idea what some ranchers might pay per coyote? I asked a cattleman about coyote bounties, and he told me to figure out a price schedule, and he'll introduce me to others with cattle. Other than asking on this forum what they may have heard about bounties, the only way I can think of to put pencil to paper would be to offer my services free to this guy, see how much time and energy go into trying to secure pastures, especially during calving season, so that I can get an idea what a service like that would go for.

Pretty much the same question for raccoons. I know plenty of crawfish farmers that wish that they did not have coon problems.

Does anyone know of bounties paid for coyotes and raccoons, or is it more of a 'free service and you get to sell the pelts'?

Is it usually legal to be paid a bounty and to sell the fur?

Or...Do most people trap the coyotes for free so that they may also be able to trap other furbearers?

Wood Duck, a couple of your answers would come from how your state game and fish agency sees the coyote as a species (and the raccoon). If they are protected furbearer species with a season certain rules would apply, if however they are treated (at least coyotes) as a non protected species in your state or area you are going to work in, then generally no rules or very few apply (usually they would apply to methods of take if there were rules against say spotlighting for example or something of the sort).

You will find the gamut of things people are doing from doing it for free to gain land access for other hunting, fishing, trapping, etc... While others would be doing it for a per animal cost and others maybe a monthly fee or some such.

This is all up to you personally within your states guidelines, though many can offer, only you can know what your time is worth and how your skills in conducting this type of damage management rank in terms of what you ask for in damage removal costs.

Example, a rookie who hasn't trapped before might not be worth a plug nickel to most ranchers or farmers, while a seasoned veteran with 10-20 years under their belt can come in and quickly change a situation in regards to removal and therefore is worth some funds to the average ranch operation.

Either way, I know many who do this, but very few who make a good living at it when it.

If you can find folks who suffer a true loss (maybe the crayfish farmers with the raccoons), take into account what they sell the crayfish for, what the losses they believe they are incurring cost them and you can use those numbers to create your cost that might fit their business model.

The term bounty is generally and old one with very few places (including one county here in my state) have a "bounty" anymore. These referred to govt. or county programs where people brought in the animal or a part of the animal (ears/tail) to verify take and they were paid some amount by the govt.

Nutria is one of the more recent ones down in your area of operation, where the bounty was paid to help eradicate the nutria from the marshland and provide financial incentive for folks to do so.

Stick to the services you'd like to offer versus the use of terms like bounty and you'll likely gain more in terms of business.

Hope that helps,

Justin

I've done all of the above

Last two jobs I did I got a set-up fee and $100 per coyote

I've also done jobs like "I got a bunch of black coyotes and big spotted bobcats, you can come on out and trap all you want (for free)"

I think this is a very good idea. Offer your services free for a year and you will have real world, direct experience on the subject. You will know exactly what the service is worth to both yourself and your potential customers.

Nothing beats real world, personal experience.

Nice catch!

Thanks for the information. I know of bounties for beavers in a local parish. They've been damming drainages, and I just took the word and applied it for the yotes and coons. People here get the point, but I do agree that when dealing with customers, choosing the right words can make or break a deal.

I guess it would just have to be worked out on a case by case basis, depending on what each of us has to offer.

While I work in the marshes, I don't live near there, for the most part. A 60 mile commute to work brings me from the marshes to a totally different environment back home. I can speak with first hand experience that the nutria bounty program did some good. I forgot how many tails were bought, but it was in the 6 figures. I rarely see nutrias where I am, but I understand how quickly that can change. We're talking about something that can reproduce and do some damage in a hurry.

I wish that the state or fed would offer a nice bounty on pigs, but I seriously doubt they will. Agencies say that there's no money for it. It would seem that since the switch can be flipped and magic money can be printed when it's needed, one would think funding for pig eradication would be possible. Guess I'm wrong, but that's another subject.

We all work for bounties even if we call them something else. Even the guys who charge by the job better get the animals or birds that are doing the damage. The majority of us get a "bounty" of between $40 and $80 for raccoon. Coyotes are between $100 and a couple of thousand, depending on the situation.

Would I catch a raccoon for less than $45 or a coyote for less than $300? Maybe, but she would have to be on one of the covers of Sports Illustrated. ( And since my wife takes most of the calls, I don't see that happening any time soon )

Aix, ask ft. benning about their feral hog bounty program they tried, as with all bounties the worst comes out in folks who can easily find ways to skirt the true meaning of the program.

The result was basically paying guys nearly $20.00 per hog taken (paid after tails were provided as proof), however the hog tails were nearly 100% coming from butcher shops locally since guys realized they could buy the tails for a few bucks and sell them to the bounty folks as proof of taking wild hogs, though they hadn't gone afield.

Similar things happened with the old coyote bounties, folks would go out of their county to get more and collect in their county and so forth, bounties are a great way to scam those who believe folks are honest.

Of course I'm biased, I've heard too much about bounties from folks involved in them to ever believe they are a good way to do things, though eradication of invasive species is one of the better places to try them as you have to be creative.

in our state you have to be a licensed Animal Damage Control trapper to charge. You also have to have a hunting and trapping license also. It depends on what's involved and how far away as to what I charge. For coyotes it is $150 or 300 for set up and $100 - 150 per animal. Raccoons or any other animal $150 for set up plus the first coon. Then it is $100 per adult. If there is babies $50 each. Snakes $100 - 150 depending on where I have to go . Venomous $300. Neighborhood kids $150 and will relocate them to some one else's neighborhood. But I have also traded out for trapping rights.

Faster, I am interested in how you advertise for the neighborhood kid relocation thing. Always looking for more business.

If your inexpirienced or have another full time job that takes priority, I would trade for hunting rights.

LOL

You're doing it all wrong. We just had a seminar on coyotes from Lynsey White Dasher, who is the coyote "expert" from HSUS. ( I didn't attend because I went to the last one and now that I have concealed carry, I knew it could go really wrong )

Anyway, her instructions were to carry a squirt gun and to squirt the coyotes with it. I am not making this up. I read it twice. Good thing I've got the CC permit. I can carry my squirt gun in my shoulder holster. ( I hope it doesn't leak )

Aix,

That action and photos of it are fueling the fire of folks wanting to ban coyote hunting and control.

Others may disagree but the same reason many states don't let you put a buck or doe across your hood applies here.

Though the rancher that did that might like to see it thousands of others will see it with disgust and push the issue further.

I live in the rural west and I see this far too often. Old habit and tradition that shouldn't be going on with the issues we all face today.

I'd remove the pic from your post at least so it isn't one more google image for groups to use.

Justin

I deleted every picture of a coyote that I had posted. The ONLY reason why I posted it was because I saw that posting pictures of coyotes with their foot in a trap is a common practice. Even seeing that, I should not blame my action on anyone else. I regret posting it, and I will not do it again. Thanks for the heads up.

Aix, I appreciate your response, don't feel I was trying to hammer you, as many folks have many opinions on sharing and not, though personally I believe that we all whether sportsmen or industry professionals should always think about what the things we post can and will be used for.

You personally I have no issue with, you didn't hang the coyotes there, the rancher did and though its common I wish they'd realize as well its not in their best interest ultimately.

Don't regret or worry, again, please keep enjoying the forum, discussing, debating and inquiring, thats what it is for, not trying to run anyone off.

The pictures of many critters in cages/footholds/coni's etc... usually don't get too much posting in this particular forum, but on the trap talk side you'll see more of those as it is about trapping wholeheartedly, whereas the ADC forum utilizes many aspects of trapping tools but many folks know what a picture means to others and will be careful in sharing.

Appreciate you removing that particular photo from this particular forum, but again, nothing personal or to worry longer about.

Best,

Justin

P.S. - Over a decade ago my better half and I created a little brochure to give to houndsmen in the area we were operating in with our coyote research. At a meeting of our agency we were looked at in a very negative light as we had a picture of a coyote in a snare (coyote was not dead, not in distress, just live caught standing there, you could barely see the snare) in the brochure.

I learned that day and have tried to keep up ever since about how various folks perceive the media we might share and how it might negatively impact us. I do however always strive to educate those who would oppose trap and snare tools about how they truly work and what they are truly designed for, versus what disney would have liked them to believe.

I understand completely about both sides of the coin. I can relate to it with gun control. First off, I don't want to be called a fence sitter. I am 100% pro gun.

I am a proud gun owner, and it will stay that way. I don't care what any lawmaker says, because I do not believe the 2nd Amendment will ever be repealed in my lifetime. Honestly, even if it were repealed, I know that any confiscation wouldn't last long. No one would want to fill the recently vacated positions on the pickup lines.

ANYWAY, you know how I feel about gun control. However, I look at giving the antis anything to run with is like bringing a Mini-14 to a Starbucks. It isn't something that is usually done. I feel like if a person wants to carry into a business, open carried or concealed carried handguns are what should be carried. If this were SYRIA then it would make sense carrying a long arm into a place like that, but it isn't. Just because Starbucks "used to be gun friendly" didn't mean it was a good idea for people to bring their long guns "because they can, it's our 2A right". Well, as much as I appreciate 2A, I do NOT want to be in a business where other people that I don't know are propping their rifles up on tables and this, that, and the other. It's not the guns, it's the big picture. People not being reasonable about guns in a private business is what can lead to troubles. If people were leaning rifles on tables and all of that in my business, I'd tell them there was a problem. What if it's tripped on or bumped, or something else?

The whole Starbucks deal was used as a victory flag for the anti gunners, so I can see how it's not that we discuss trapping, but that posting something that can be used against us is the problem that they'll turn on us. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and it is...look at how my rant about long guns in Starbucks started after seeing a photo of a guy leaning his rifle on a table....

Thanks,

Very True Aix! A picture is worth a thousands words, good ones or bad ones, in the media era where everyone has a tiny computer in their pocket and multiple computers, tv's and devices at home, plus the old newspaper and magazines, too easy to use photos and videos to push and issue further toward legislation.

Well said!

The one HUGE problem of course, is that every anti knows how the game is played and could hire people to be morons and then put the blame on us. Whenever I see someone acting like they want to look bad in front of any media, the first thing that comes to my mind is "who hired them!"