Bob Skinner is a rancher with a conflicted view on coyotes. On the one hand, he says, they can do a lot of good. They control the populations of pests like mice and rabbits. But on the other hand, they can wreack havoc on livestock and wildlife. He says things get particularly bad when the coyote populations grow too large and they get more desperate for food. Then they’ll risk attacking larger animals like cows and deer.
Skinner’s ranch is in Jordan Valley in Malheur County — that’s the county where the USDA’s Wildlife Services killed 10,632 coyotes between 1998 and 2008. In fact, Malheur County was the second most deadly county for predators in the United States. Predator activists say that the killings are ineffective and indiscriminate.
Do you live in an area with coyotes? What effect do they have on your life or work?
- Brooks Fahy: Executive Director of Predator Defense
- Bob Skinner: Rancher in Jordan Valley, OR