Right now across Maine people are participating in gruesome coyote hunting “tournaments” in which hunters compete to see who can kill the most and largest animals. Coyote hunting tournament organizers say that killing the animals helps protect deer populations and that the tournaments are just a “fun” way to protect deer.

Besides the cruelty inherent in any killing competition, these ones don’t even achieve their own stated goals. It turns out that the resiliency of the coyote species makes hunting an ineffective means of population control.

Maine’s Governor John Baldacci even went as far as directing state regulators to tell tournament organizers to cancel a similar event in 2005 because it was a reckless and ineffective practice and has called these tournaments "inhumane."

It’s time for the governor to intervene again. Sign this petition and tell Governor Baldacci that you are appalled by the coyote hunting tournaments in his state and that you want him to stop the unnecessary competitive killing of coyotes immediately.

photo: Alan Vernon.