Year-Round Coyote Hunting Could Return Under New Bill

Every county in Michigan is seeing a surge in coyote populations.. Michigan lawmakers proposed a new bill that would bring back year-round coyote hunting.

Coyotes in Michigan

There is no doubt that coyotes are a vital part of maintaining the balance of ecosystems in Michigan. I live on a farm in Newaygo County, and coyotes do a good job of keeping down mice, rats, chipmunks, ground squirrels, rabbits, and other small game.

Coyotes are not strictly nocturnal; they are primarily active between dusk and dawn. I grew up on the southeast side of Michigan, and remember when there were no coyotes. The small game hunting was the best I have ever seen and has steadily declined since hearing my first howls at my parents' house 30 years ago. We used to see and hear pheasants often, but now seeing one is like spotting a Sasquatch unless you hunt them on a pheasant ranch.

I'm in the woods all year long, and there are too many coyotes. It is one thing to hear or see 1 coyote, but I am hearing and seeing 5 or more at a time. I see them a lot in broad daylight, and when that happens, it's because the battle for food at night is so great that the younger and weaker animals will hunt during the day.

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There are coyotes in Detroit, Grand Rapids, and every major city in Michigan. Coyotes don't need to be wiped out, but their numbers need to be drastically lowered, or small game hunting will become a thing of the past.

New Bill Aims to Restore Coyote Hunting All Year in Michigan

According to ABC 12, two Michigan lawmakers have introduced a bill to make coyote hunting season year-round. Coyotes have become a nuisance animal as they prey on pets and livestock.

When I first moved into my house in Newaygo County, there were many feral cats in the area, but when the coyote numbers increased, they did a great job of wiping them out. That is great when you live in a rural area, but when you live in Grand Rapids, those cats are someone's pets. Coyotes will eat cats and the cat food you leave outside.  Coyotes may attack dogs they perceive as territorial threats, but often do not eat them.

Female coyotes give birth to 4 to 12 pups at a time. That statistic right there shows you how quickly they multiply. Fewer people are trapping and hunting coyotes each year, while the population of the animals grows exponentially.

If the people of Michigan don't want to have the problem Arizona is having with coyotes, everyone should welcome year-round coyote hunting.

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