Arizona recently banned “contests” that involve people of all ages going out to kill animals, such as coyotes, presumably for entertainment and human gratification or ostensibly for protection of livestock. They join Colorado, New Mexico, California, Vermont and Maryland as states instituting a ban on this activity.
In Utah, a state that prides itself on our humanity at home and worldwide, a state that boasts a high-tech, forward-looking economy, we not only still allow this anachronistic and cruel practice but also spend our tax dollars incentivizing contestants to kill as many animals as they wish and get paid $50 for each living creature they can prove has been dispatched.
Science has proven that efforts at reducing the numbers of these target species not only doesn't cull their numbers but actually increases the numbers and also teaches them to seek food sources that are not naturally found in their environment. In essence, these hunts promote the predation of livestock rather than controlling it.
Children old enough to physically shoot a rifle partake in these contests, with rewards that may include a new gun.
You may agree that family bonding and self-esteem building can be achieved in ways that do not teach children that the life of another species is disposable and that taking that life is a noble pursuit and a healthy way to entertain oneself. If so, you may be interested to know that it took public opinion, in the form of 5,000 letters to the Arizona Fish and Game, to get the ban passed.
The vast majority of our state's population that do not shoot animals. If you are one who does not want your taxes spent promoting killing contests, then go to the Division of Wildlife Resources contact page and express your desires in a brief message. They are charged with managing wildlife for all of us but, to do so, they need to hear from all of us.
Paul Zuckerman, Salt Lake City
