Colorado Coyote Debate Reveals Sharp Divide Between Ranchers and Activists

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado

DENVER–A recent Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) stakeholder report shows a wide gap between agriculture producers and animal welfare activists when it comes to management of coyotes.    

The stakeholder report, released in early December, summarizes four months of CPW meetings with rural interests, such as ranchers and sportsman, along with animal welfare and environmental activists. CPW held these meetings to explore potential changes to current furbearing animal management. 

While the two sides found common ground on management strategies of most other animals, coyotes were the one species the groups could not compromise over.   

Ranchers, sportsmen, and rural landowners expressed the constant and direct threat of coyotes for their livestock. Because coyotes are exceptionally adaptive predators, maneuvering fences and entering blocked off areas, livestock producers say their calves, lambs, guard dogs and farm cats have been killed regularly by coyotes. 

Household pets are also easy prey for coyotes. Pets can contract diseases from the animal, some that can be transmitted to humans such as rabies, leptospirosis, or tularemia. 

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