Pa. House Bill 1534 provides for a "bounty" of $25 per dead Coyote and allocates $700,000.00 for this unscientific, unnecessary, cruel, and ineffective legislation. Wildlife biologists have repeatedly pointed out that bounties are not effective in protecting wildlife and livestock, and do not reduce Coyote populations. It has also been proven scientifically that you cannot remove an apex predator from an ecosystem without doing serious damage to the ecosystem. Out West where Wolves were elimnated from ecosystems it led to overgrazing near water sources by Deer and Elk - when the Wolves were reintroduced, the Wolves kept the ungulates on the move - resulting in more vegetation and trees near water - which allowed Beavers to create more habitat for many species. In Pa. there is pressure from hunting groups to expand Deer seasons allegedly because the Deer are damaging the forest - stop killing Coyotes and the Deer populations will stabilize at managable levels. Lastly, even many hunters consider bounties to be "unsporting" and violative of the "hunters fair chase code".
