N.H. officials debate night coyote hunting

CONCORD, N.H. – The state’s Fish and Game Commission has decided to hold a public hearing on whether to have a night coyote hunting season during the summer, the latest chapter in northern New England’s continuing struggle to deal with the animal.

Eastern coyotes, which weigh between 30 and 50 pounds, first infiltrated New England in the 1800s. They are not known to attack humans, and in the past have only attacked pets and gotten into garbage and pet food.

But the animals are becoming more brazen and will not leave urban areas unless they become scared, a problem more keenly felt in populous areas, said Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Hunting coyotes at night is allowed in New Hampshire between January and March. It also is legal to trap and hunt coyotes until sunset year-round.

At a meeting Wednesday, members of the Fish and Game Commission, which sets policy for the Fish and Game Department, said they are hearing from sportsmen and others that the state has too many coyotes eating too many deer, woodchucks and neighbors’ house cats.

Commissioner Stephen Nottonson related one opinion that said 2,000 coyotes in the state each take about 40 deer a year.

“That gets pretty serious,” he said.

Steve Weber, head of the state wildlife division, disputed the figure. He said New Hampshire only has 75,000 to 80,000 deer in the state.

Fish and Game staff also said that summer hunting would lead to complaints from alarmed residents woken up by the noise, and would leave a sour taste in the mouth of the public for hunting.

They also said that a season from April to August would leave coyote pups motherless to starve and die on their own, and would not measurably change the state’s coyote population in the long run.

Weber repeated this concern in an interview Thursday.

“This will have virtually no effect on coyote densities,” he said. “[Coyotes] are not easily controlled; they’re not very vulnerable to hunting.”

The department has no estimate on New Hampshire’s coyote population, Weber said. He said no date has been set for the hearing on expanding the hunt.

Wildlife officials in Vermont estimate the state has between 4,500 coyotes in winter and 8,000 in summer. Licensed hunters can kill them any day of the year. Property owners also can shoot them to protect their livestock.

“We feel they are at saturation level,” said John Hall of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.

In Maine, many hunters believe coyotes are responsible for the thinning of populations of white-tailed deer, and state regulations on hunting coyote are the most liberal of any species, said wildlife department spokesman Latti.

Maine allows coyotes to be hunted year round, and there is no bag limit. Maine also allows hunting with traps and at night.

But critics have had some success in protecting the animals. In late 2003, Maine’s formal coyote snaring program was suspended following appeals to state officials by humane groups and others following emotional testimony to the Legislature.