A petition to ban coyote killing contests in Nevada was denied in a vote 7 to 1 by the Nevada Wildlife Commission Friday.
The contests award hunters for the most coyote kills and representatives from sportsmen groups say it reduces the problematic coyote population. Those against it say it's a senseless game.
Both sides presented their arguments for nearly 4 hours over this debate.
The petition sparked a lot of controversy, especially with animal advocates who voiced how important it was to outlaw these contests that award cash and prizes for kills.
Fauna Tomlinson with Project Coyote said, "Coyote killing contests are definitely for fun whenever you have a contest and you have prizes and inducements, yes, it's definitely for fun."
"The animals are piled up in big piles. Jumbled up. Photographs taken. Then dumped into the sagebrush. This is not the way we should treat our animals," said Don Molde, who signed the petition.
Hunters and representatives from these contests disagree.
James Schmidt, is retired from the USDA Wildlife Services and he has been hunting since he was 10 years old. He says, "It's really an anti-hunting movement. It has little to with coyotes."
But if both sides can agree on something, it's that coyotes are predators.
Advocates for these contests say they help to reduce the number of coyotes that pose a threat. They think people against the killing contests just don't understand.
"They're making coyotes out to have some kind of family structure and if you remove one of the family, they mourn the loss of them. It's completely ridiculous,” said Schmidt.
In regard to coyote's repopulating, Chris Healy with the Department of Wildlife said these contests have nothing to with that issue.
"The department of wildlife makes it clear that these coyote contests are legal. They can go out and do that but it is not a scientific way to go out and do predator management,” said Healy.
Advocates against the sport say there are ways to deal with predators rather than killing them. Having guard dogs, electric fences, and other precautions are just some strategies to handle coyotes.
For now, the petitioners plan to continue their fight.
"We just move on to the next step which is the legislature at some point,” said Molde.
