New York considers ban on cash prize contests for hunting coyotes, squirrels, some other wildlife

The contests have names such as Predator Slam, Squirrel Scramble and Final Fling for Fox, sometimes challenging hunters to bag the heaviest coyote or the heftiest bunch of squirrels to win a cash prize.

While participants seek prey in the name of fundraising, animal rights advocates are training their sights on contests they see as senseless slaughters. With bans in eight states, activists are now looking to New York, where Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering a proposal recently approved by the Legislature.

“It’s wrong that fringe groups in these extreme contests can use our wildlife resources for money,” said Brian Shapiro, New York state director of the Humane Society of the United States. “I can’t think of any other natural resource that is used that way.”

Opponents want to put an end to annual events held around upstate New York that target wildlife like coyotes, rabbits, raccoons and foxes. Campaigns against the competitions often feature pictures of coyote carcasses in a pile or other grisly scenes.

But the proposed ban illustrates the cultural chasm between its supporters and those who see the contests as an unfairly demonized part of rural life.

“When it comes to this stuff, it’s all about emotion. They throw logic out of the window,” said David Leibig, a rural upstate resident and executive director of the New York State Trappers Association.

Leibig said the events draw families and raise money for fire departments and other community groups. He bristles at the charge that they’re “just a blood fest.”

These types of contests have been held for decades around the nation. Animal advocates were able to track 22 last year in New York, though there may be more. Shapiro believes only a “small minority” of the roughly 580,000 people with New York hunting licenses…