Like most things in the media the articles about this are hyped for maximum emotional effect. M-44 use is controversial but necessary in my opinion. They’re always clearly signed and it’s clear that the dog set it off since he was killed, the only way for that to happen is that the dog pulled on the device in the manner it was designed to trigger.
Coyotes are a plague and constantly expanding into more of the U.S. It’s impossible to control their numbers by hunting along, anyone that thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. They’re adaptive breeders and very smart, you can get a few by calling but the others in the area will quickly figure it out and cease responding. They wreak havoc on wildlife in an area, many of which have never had coyotes before but do now because we’ve removed their natural enemies. The rabbit population has been crushed in my area and where we used to have a lot of quail 30 years ago, I haven’t seen or heard a covey of quail in years. They kill a huge number of fawns, just last year I killed a coyote about 20 feet behind a spotted fawn that was running full out, he would have had the fawn in another 30 seconds or so if not for my lucky shot. Untold numbers of personal pets that “disappear” from peoples years are surely snatched by coyotes. They’ll get a newborn calf every now and also.
I’m sorry this happened but in the big picture these traps are needed. The USDA like most government agencies has traditionally been run by lefties that are naturally opposed to anything like this but even they admit they’re needed.
No argument there, my friend. I don’t disagree with using the traps, I only disagree with the claim by the government. Hopefully this situation was already investigated thoroughly.
Things also pertinent to this story are: was it rightfully marked? What are the leash laws in the area? Was the dog on a leash at the time?
That’s just the tip of the iceburg, I am sure. Lots of needed unknowns.