Coyotes are frequently killed out of a cruel and misguided attempt to protect pet cats. This is unfair not only to the mother and father coyotes, but also to their pups who get left behind. How can any cat owner say they care about animals if they would sentence puppies to such a horrible, scary death?
While cats aren’t a natural part of a coyote’s diet, any mother or father will accept the meals they can find. We can’t expect to put easy meals in a coyote’s home without the coyote accepting the offer. Coyotes are driven by the instinct to feed themselves and their families and don’t have any way to know that your cat is off-limits.
It is a pet owner’s job to properly contain their pets. Free-roaming outdoor cats are at a high risk of suffering premature deaths from factors like cars, dogs, disease, and fights with other cats. Even if you take it upon yourself to kill every coyote you see, other coyotes will simply claim the empty territory, putting you in a never-ending and futile cycle of violence against wildlife.
Please don’t harm predators for doing what comes naturally to them. It hurts the adults you kill and the babies they leave behind, and it does no good in protecting your pets. If you want your cats to be safe, keep them indoors or in a predator-proof outdoor enclosure.
For Fox Sake Wildlife Rescue 