Killing coyotes for sport not justified

Out here, nestled in the small western hills of Winnebago County, we are blessed to experience a plethora of wildlife. Sometimes, if we are lucky, we are awakened to the sounds of the coyotes’ midnight howl.

Coyotes form strong family bonds. Males and females work together to raise their young and, later, when the pups are old enough, the families hunt and defend together.

Listening to the yipping, calling and chorus of a family of coyotes is a magical thing. Not so magical is the gunfire of a coyote hunter’s rifle. A group of men will spread out in these hills to hunt, corner and kill the coyote purely for sport.

I have watched in horror the brutal and vicious assault as this group of hunters surround a frightened coyote, aim their rifles and destroy a life that was never theirs to take. These men are not protecting their property or mine. They are not defending a herd of grazing cattle or a beloved family pet. They simply kill for the sake of a “sport.”

As Immanuel Kant said, “We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”

Tammy Nordberg
Rockford

From the Jan. 2-8, 2013, issue

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