Stop The Horrific Animal Killing Contests in New York

UPDATE (12/22/23): VICTORY! Bill A.2917/S.4099 which puts an end to horrific wildlife killing contests in the state of New York has been signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul.

UPDATE (7/2/23): We are happy to report that the New York State Assembly has passed a bill banning this practice, and we have sent our petition to Governor Kathleen Hochul to urge her to sign it! Of course, we will continue to keep an eye on the progress of this bill. Thank you to everyone who signed and made their voices heard!

Every year in the United States thousands of animals are horrifically slaughtered for fun in a cruel blood sport known as “killing contests”.  

Like dogfighting, these murder for sport events, are popular only with a small segment of society and are not typically observed by the general public. Unlike dogfighting unfortunately, these contests are fully legal in 41 U.S. states. The animals killed for prizes in this twisted “sport” include all types of native North American wildlife including coyotes, foxes, prairie dogs, squirrels, wolves, mountain lions, rabbits, and even crows and other birds. The participants in these contests compete to kill as many animals as possible often without any type of cap on the number they slaughter and they are awarded prizes for categories such as the most killed, the largest or the smallest kill. The animals killed in these contests are often considered pests with no legal protections and their bodies are typically dumped like trash after the end of the contest. 

These competitions serve no public interest. The animals that are killed do not pose a threat to humans, and scientific studies have shown that indiscriminate killing of animals provides no benefit in terms of wildlife management. The only purpose of these competitions is to allow people who like to kill for fun to do so for money. 

In 2020 in New York, an undercover investigation revealed that 118 coyotes were killed in just one of these horrific contests. Coyotes are deeply complex, emotional animals that live in bonded pairs and form strong family connections. The undercover investigation revealed that during this contest even pregnant female coyotes were lured with bait, killed, mutilated, and then thrown in dumpsters.     

New York state legislators are working to pass A.2917 and S.4099 to outlaw this cruelty and to make New York the 10th state to recognize that this practice is morally wrong.

Pushes to ban killing contests have had mixed results other states. Nevada recently failed to pass a similar measure whereas this fall, in a major victory for animals, Oregon became the 9th state in the nation to outlaw wildlife killing contests. We cannot let New York’s efforts to end these killing contests meet the same fate as the legislation in Nevada. We must do everything we can to support the passage of A.2917/S.4099 so that New York can join Oregon on the right side of history this year.

Please join Species Unite in urging Governor Kathleen Hochul to sign A.2917/S.4099 into law to protect New York wildlife and end this cruelty in the state once and for all.