Update: Fortunately, this bill did not complete the legislative process prior to adjournment.
Bill Description: If passed, this bill would expand trapping to allow the recreational trapping of foxes and coyotes in Cumberland and Harnett counties.
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The arbitrary killing of predators is ecologically unsound. Predators play a vital ecological role in healthy ecosystems by keeping other animal populations in check. The broadscale killing of predators such as coyotes does not reduce livestock losses. The National Agricultural Statistics Service found that predators only caused 2.7% of cattle and calf deaths. Other causes of death were far greater: respiratory problems (27.5%), digestive problems (19.7%), unknown causes (15.2%), birthing (14.8%), weather (9.5%), other (9.1%), poison (1.1%), and theft (0.4%). Lethal control of coyotes may be counterproductive in the long term since these programs do not target animals identified as livestock killers. Instead, entire family packs and local populations may be wiped out, often as a “preventive” measure before lambing season. Such indiscriminate killing can result in “compensatory reproduction,” where the remaining wild animals increase litter sizes in response to increased food and habitat availability. Furthermore, expanding the use of cruel leghold traps is taking North Carolina’s wildlife management policies in the wrong direction. Leghold traps are indiscriminate and sometimes catch and kill non-target animals, including family cats and dogs and even threatened or endangered species. There are humane alternatives available to address human/wildlife conflicts and those alternatives should be employed instead of using cruel leghold traps.