Eastern coyote

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, N.Y. -- A Sullivan County coyote hunting/trapping contest next month could be for headed for a record number of participants with some $10,000 in cash and prizes offered.

“The last couple of years we’ve increased our prizes,” said Jack Danchak, president of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County.

“Last year, we had 644 participants. This year, we’re looking for over 700,” he said. “We’re a little ahead of where we were (registration-wise) this time last year."

The three-day competition, set for Feb. 7-9, will be headquartered at the White Sulphur Springs Fire House. The contest is open to coyote hunters across the state, along those from six counties in Pennsylvania (Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, Lackawanna, Monroe and Tioga).

Among the prizes offered will be a $2,000 check for the hunter who turns in the heaviest coyote. Hunters will also be awarded $80 for each coyote weighed in.

Animal rights advocates, who decline to respond to requests from NYup.com for comment, in recent weeks have started online petitions and peppered local officials in Hancock, N.Y. and Whitney Point with phone calls and emails condemning coyote hunters there. The Hancock contest, which was sponsored by the Hancock Fire Department, was cancelled. The Whitney Point contest, scheduled for this weekend, is still on.

“We get that every year. It doesn’t stop us from doing it,” Danchak said. “These anti-hunters, animal lovers don’t understand. We have a coyote problem. Their population is exploding, You have coyotes in places where they’ve never been before. They’re taking out small game, taking our domestic small dogs and cats. It’s a serious problem.”

Danchak said last year a woman from California informed him she had organized a petition effort against the Sullivan County contest that gathered 80,000 signatures.

“We paid no attention and never heard anything else,” he said.

The entry fee is $35. Other cash awards this year in the Sullivan County competition will include $500 for the second heaviest coyote and $250 for the third heaviest coyote weighed. In addition, there will be a $200 prize for the heaviest coyote weighed each day; $100 to a heaviest coyote turned in by a youth hunter (ages 12-15) and $100 to the heaviest coyote turned in by a female hunter.

In addition, the contest end ends with a roast beef dinner at the fire house, that includes drinks (beer and soda). Contestants will also be eligible for additional prizes and a free, $5 ticket for a gun raffle.

The same will be offered to guests of the hunters who just attend the dinner. The cost for those who just attend the banquet will be $25, Dancheck said.

“And we’re expecting loads of guests,” he said.

The weigh-ins will be held at the White Sulphur Springs Fire House on Route 52 in Sullivan County. According to the contest regulations: “We suggest all coyotes be brought in on the day of the kill for weigh-in.”

“If taken after weigh-in hours keep coyote warm. All coyotes will be body temperature tested. A temperature above l00 degrees or below 68 degrees is a disqualification. Use whatever means necessary to keep the body temp above 68 degrees. Wrap the coyote in bags, tarps, blankets or put in Ice chests & don't expose the coyote to the elements before weigh-in.”

The rules are a guard against a contestant entering a coyote taken outside of the tournament dates.

Coyotes are not native to this state. The first one was sighted in this state in 1926, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The coyote hunting season is the longest hunting season in the state (Oct. 1 to March 29) with no daily bag limits. Although they are legal, the DEC, does not endorse or sponsor competitive hunting events. Some state lawmakers have proposed laws banning such competitions.

Proceeds from the Sullivan County coyote hunt will go toward a wide variety of Federation’s activities, Danchak said, including paying for fishing derbies and sending youngsters to the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s summer camp.

“Everything we make will go back into the community,” he said.

Danchak pointed out that New York is not unique in offering competitive coyote hunts.

Pennsylvania has 28 (contests) scheduled for this winter,” he said.

For more on the contest, see the Federation’s website at sportsmensfederation.com.

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