The main reason why hunters kill coyotes is for numbers control. Coyotes are quickly overpopulating parts of North America, and hunters kill them to keep them from pressuring other animals.
The main thing hunters do with coyotes after they kill them is tan the hide and use the fur or sell the hide.
Use the Fur
Coyotes are known for having one of the finest furs in North America. Many hunters who kill coyotes will skin the animal and hide to make it into different things.
However, tanning furs is a slowly dying tradition amongst hunters. Trappers are purposefully trapping coyotes for their fur, which they will sell.
The hunters that do keep the coyote fur are rewarded with lush, durable fur that can be used for many applications.
Coyote fur was once famed for adorning high clothes like Canada Goose who use the fur on their jackets.
Coyote fur makes great scarves or lining parkas.
Eat Them
This is not something that many hunters do, but some hunters eat coyotes.
Surprisingly coyote is not only edible but is also nutritious and can be tasty if cooked properly.
Most hunters and people, in general, will not eat coyote because it’s too similar to a dog, but in a pot, a coyote is more similar to beef, pork, or duck.
Sell the Hide
Some hunters prefer to sell the hide rather than tan it themselves. Fur buyers are still buying hides to sell at auctions.
Most of the furs are going to China, where the fur market is much larger.
The fur market is volatile and often rises and falls. The fur would also need to be in good condition for the hunter to sell it.
Sometimes it’s not worth it for the hunter to sell it, maybe the prices are too low, or the hide is not in good condition.
However, if the prices are high and the hunter has good fur, he could get paid up to $100 on a good year.
Collect Bounties
Lately, many states and provinces have put bounties on coyotes to try and manage the growing populations.
Coyotes can cause damage to both livestock and wildlife. Because coyote numbers can get so high they can wipe out other wildlife trying to live in the same area.
They can kill a large number of fawns and even outcompete wolves. Coyotes will also kill a lot of livestock.
Governments will put a bounty on coyotes when their numbers get so high to try and prevent any of this damage from happening.
If a hunter kills a coyote in the area of a bounty, they can turn in the scalp or pelt to the relevant department along with the proper documentation and paperwork to get paid.
The average bounty is usually around $50.
Tie flies
One often-overlooked use of coyotes is to use the hide for tying flies for fishing. Most hunters are also anglers, and many of them tie their own flies.
Coyote fur can be used for many different fly patterns due to the long stiff guard hairs and soft undercoat.
The guard hairs are great for tying hackles, whereas the soft undercoat is excellent for dubbing.
Another reason why hunters use coyote fur for tying flies is because of the great colors.
Many flies you can buy commercially are dyed, whereas coyote fur has great natural colors suited to fly tying.
Mount Them
Go into any hunter’s house, and you will find antlers lining the walls. Hunters like to mount their kills to remind them of the hunt.
Often hunters will meet struggle out in the field, and the animal on the wall is a great way to remind them of the hunt and the struggle they overcame to get that animal.
Of course, the animal also has an aesthetic appeal, especially if it’s in a rustic surrounding. Quite often, you will find animal mounts in high-class hotels and restaurants.
Hunters will mount coyotes, usually as a full-body mount. Particularly if it is a striking specimen or if the hunt was challenging.
Do Nothing
Some hunters opt to do nothing with the coyotes they kill. They leave them where they fall for other animals to feed on them.
This is often because when coyote populations get quite large, they are more susceptible to diseases.
The most common issue seen amongst coyotes is the mange. Bringing home a coyote in this condition is quite dangerous to any household pet who could also contract the disease.
Mange will cause a coyote to lose all its fur and can be a quite debilitating disease.
Most coyotes who contract mange are likely to die.
Why Do Hunters Kill Coyotes if They Don’t Eat Them?
The main reason why hunters kill coyotes even though they don’t eat them is for population control. Although as we mentioned above, some hunters do eat coyotes.
Hunters kill Coyotes for management: As mentioned above coyote populations can get so large that governments pay a bounty for hunters to eradicate them.
In Alberta, coyotes account for 75% of all livestock predation each year.
Coyotes not only cause damage to livestock but also to wildlife. Large numbers of coyotes can wreak havoc on ecosystems. They are capable of consuming large amounts of nesting birds and small mammals.
Coyotes also become a threat to family pets when their numbers get so large. This is because due to large numbers, coyotes will spread more to towns and urban areas put them in contact with people and their pets.
Most hunters don’t hunt coyotes for any other reason. The fur, if in good condition, is a side benefit. As you can imagine, most furs are not in good condition A) because the population is high and likely the coyote is not doing well, and B) Shooting a coyote will do a lot of damage to the fur.
Collecting coyote fur is usually done by trappers.
Conclusion
Hunters mainly hunt coyotes for population control. The majority of hunters will use the fur of coyotes for one thing or another. As you can see, the most utilized part of the coyote is the fur.
It would be nice to see more hunters utilize the meat of coyotes, but it’s unlikely due to the mental block and the reputation coyotes have across North America.
