Because of red wolf intro, can't shoot or trap coyotes in Beaufort county, NC (where I just relocated.) The coyote population seems to be large and growing. This is madness. This is probably an opportunity for some clever thinking - lemons to lemonade.

Sorry to hear that Phil. Despite everything HSUS has done to paint the coyote as a wonderful predator, the hatred for the coyote in our area has hit extreme proportions.

I guess it becomes very hard for even the most devoted tree-hugger to watch their favorite pet disappear into the jaws of a coyote.

It becomes even harder when we never had coyotes in the past. When some protectionist mutters, "Well they were here first" he or she is likely to get lynched.

I just wish I had the time ( and energy ) to tackle them like Rob Erickson does.

We'll see how NC's fox population does with that !

What is interesting about this is that about 10+ years ago they were killing coyotes to keep them away from the red wolf
population due to hybridization issues. Lots and lots of genetic research and associated studies were going on. In the
last few years I've seen quite a few media things dedicated to educating folks who hunt coyotes on how to not end up shooting
red wolf instead.

Apparently what they have witnessed there tells them folks aren't doing this on their own, so they needed to make something legal
to attempt to stem it off...

Regulations hardly ever work, what this means as you all know is that folks who comply with laws will do so, while the abundant
others out there with a 6 pack and box of shells will not....

Hard for folks trying to manage these small populations to find the right approaches and apparently all that they tried earlier on for
education and non regulatory methods did not work as planned, so they stepped it up... While we don't all consider every hunter, trapper
fisherman, etc... our "brothers in arms" we all know there are plenty of them out there who are the reasons why these laws end up created,
folks need to be more responsible and just like being a good neighbor, abide by the rules so it doesn't wreck it for everyone...

Just my take, I know this issue well from a distance and from some folks in the area and a few other angles. In the end they are trying
to protect and enhance the red wolf.

Phil, do they still allow depredation or damage take by licensed NWCO's or landowners of coyotes?

Funny how your mind changes. When I was in the army, ( No, not the Civil War ) one of the guys in my platoon had a red wolf as a pet. Because he was from Texas, he felt that it was important to send me a picture of his red wolf, because Texans were, are, and always will be, known for stretching the truth.

After seeing a picture of his truly red wolf, my first thought was, how can anyone mistake that animal for a coyote? A couple weeks ago, I got my answer. I saw a male coyote that looked more like a red wolf than many red wolves do. I would love to nail this guy, if for nothing else, the pictures.