Greyhounds hunting Coyotes for Sport

Didn't know this was a "sport" until I read it in the NY Times: Coyotes v. Greyhounds

- Luke

repugnant and repulsive to be sure, Luke, but: give it time. in the long run the coyotes will win. they have been the targets of more bullets, traps, and poison than probably all the other predators in the nation combined, yet they persist. few creatures are more resilient and intelligent than the coyote.

found this part rather amusing "Once, Hardzog lost four dogs when they ran over a cliff while pursuing a coyote." reminds me of the old cartoons...

Time for another world war so these sickos can get relief and we can put a dent in their gene pool.

I find sports, (if you can call something like this "sport"), reprehensible. A few weeks ago I was driving along a two lane road that goes along Lake Mead in Nevada and up ahead I spotted what appeared to be a dog running along the shoulder. My immediate thought was that someone camping-out had lost their dog. When I drove past I looked-out and saw that it wasn't a dog but a coyote. By the time I got stopped, (struggling to get my camera out of the bag), I had passed it. I thought that I may be able to get a couple of shots before it ran-off in to the desert. When I looked-in my side view mirror much to my surprise I saw that the coyote kept trotting along the shoulder and was approaching my truck. To my further amazement he stopped right outside my window and just stood there while I captured a few shots. He did not seem afraid at all, and stood there long enough to enable me to change lenses. This was an experience that I'll probably never have again.

Greg
Nevada

Here's another shot...

And one last one...

What is wrong with these people. I find it to be very sad and quite disturbing that a person can find pleasure in killing an animal.

As with wolves I've found these animals to be very intellegent and non-threatening. This fellow visited us during a hike in Yellowstone. He was as curious about us as we we were about him, happy to share his play with us for hours on end.

Ed, beautiful photo. It's sad this species is still persecuted.

Killing "for sport"? There is NO sport in the shameful murder of wildlife.

Greg: coyotes are damn smart and eager opportunists. The coyote was not curious. He simply wanted you to feed him. Guaranteed that he's been fed by others before and that this is a learned behavior. The best thing to do in this situation is blast the heck out of the horn to show him that humans should be feared The further they are from the road, the better their chances of survival.

Coyotes are survivors. And they are extremely adaptable. They will adapt to being hunted by greyhounds, and I saw from the article the redneck goon admits it takes 4-6 greyhounds to take down one coyote. Greg, I agree with Michael as why the single was following you. And that's a very handsome shot, Ed.

Michael and Jim,

Yes, that has been suggested to me by others and I agree. Tourists travel this road a lot and I'm sure that he/she has been fed in the past. I hope that he/she survives before some nutcase like that rancher comes along and shoots him or he's run over by a vehicle.

Greg
Nevada

As an owner of ex-racing greyhounds, this article really bothered me. Its bad enough most greyhounds live a hard life on the track hoping to be rescued by a loving family one day before being put down. I've been to coursing events where greyhounds chase an artificial lure (usually something like a white plastic grocery bag) tied to a string around a large open field. But the hounds adopted family isn't concerned with whether he wins or not, catches the lure or not, or even if the hound just decides to stop running mid-way through and lies down for a rest. Its just the joy of watching a magnificent creature moving at 45 mph at what can appear to be a low earth orbit.

The killing or abuse of animals, both wild or domesticated, for the sake of human entertainment. To put it bluntly, and simply, pisses me off !!!! He said it "was one of the cleanest sports there is". This is because he was raised to think of it that way. It's a cultural thing. Sad to say, but in my opinion is true. Michael Vick was mentioned in the article. He thought of abusing dogs for entertainment, and finacial gain to be perfectly acceptable. He thought this because someone taught him to. It's a cultural thing. If you think about it, horse racing, dog racing, animal shows like you see at aquariums with Killer Whales, it's all some form of abuse. Sure, I love to see animals that I might not be able to otherwise. At least these animals are cared for. But there are always individuals that neglect animals, even while thay claim they "love" thier pets. I'm sure the dogs are having fun during the chase. But what about the wounds, sometimes mortal to the dogs? I just don't understand why some people need to watch to beautiful things rip themselves apart to get off. I'm glad our culture is cleansing itself of this attitude. You see it, and here about it less and less. I'll be happy when we humans are done entertaining ourselves this way.

Chris

There's no excuse for this sort of weak and disgusting activity- even a basic understanding of biology makes this sort of act horrifically immoral. Coyotes are intelligent, feel emotion/pain, have families, etc. The unnecessary killing of any animal capable of pain/emotion is immoral and terrible from any rational standpoint. These people are weak and small- puny "men"...hell, they can't even do it themselves...they use dogs and high-powered rifles...pardon my language, but it doesn't get much more chickensh&*t than that. Good to see so many nice & thoughtful people on this board.