Stop USDA’s Killing of Coyotes & Choose Coexistence

Coyotes are among the most intelligent, adaptable animals in North America. For thousands of years, they’ve helped keep ecosystems in balance—controlling rodent populations, cleaning up carrion, and supporting biodiversity.

But instead of respecting these wild neighbors, we’re killing them.

Across the United States, coyotes are routinely shot, trapped, and poisoned—often simply for living in places humans now occupy. And shockingly, taxpayer-funded federal programs are helping carry out this killing.

An obscure agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture called Wildlife Services kills nearly 2 million animals every year to protect the meat industry. Coyotes are among the most targeted animals.

Many are killed through brutal methods like aerial gunning, steel traps, neck snares, and even cyanide “bombs” known as M-44 devices that can poison animals indiscriminately—including pets and endangered wildlife.

These practices aren’t just cruel—they’re outdated and ineffective.

Coyotes live in tight-knit family groups that naturally regulate their populations. When these family structures are destroyed through mass killing, coyotes often reproduce more quickly, or new coyotes move into the territory. In other words, killing coyotes can actually worsen conflicts.

There’s a better way.

Communities across the country are proving that coexistence works. Simple, humane solutions—like securing food sources, using non-lethal deterrents, and protecting livestock with guard animals and fencing—can prevent conflicts while allowing wildlife to survive.

That’s why Coyote Awareness Week (March 16–22, 2026) is so important. It’s a chance to challenge fear and misinformation and replace it with science, compassion, and practical coexistence strategies.

Coyotes aren’t villains. They’re resilient wild animals trying to survive in a world that humans increasingly dominate.

It’s time for our policies to catch up with science—and with our values.

Sign the petition to demand an end to cruel taxpayer-funded wildlife killing programs and call for humane coexistence with coyotes and other wildlife. 

The petition to the USDA reads: Coyotes are vital members of healthy ecosystems, yet taxpayer-funded programs continue to kill thousands of them every year using cruel and outdated methods like traps, snares, and poison devices. We urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture to end inhumane predator-killing programs and instead invest in science-based, non-lethal strategies that allow people and wildlife to coexist.
_______

Sources:

https://projectcoyote.org/coexist/coyote-awareness-week/

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/411304/wildlife-services-usda-meat-industry

Photo: A coyote pup peeks into a prairie dog burrow looking for food. | NPS Image