[Jacob-list] Coyote Snares

[Jim Spahr]

Our coyotes are really slick.  They have obviously been dragging the lambs over or under the fences and out of the pasture.  Last year our neighbor found one in his field and brought it to us for compensation by the state.  There have been evidences of lamb remains on our other farms up the road.  With all the tall corn, soybean fields, and woods, there is lots of cover for them.  As far as we know, only two have been eaten in the pasture.  
I have only heard a coyote once and it sounded like it was right outside our door at midnight.  We jumped in the truck and circled the pasture but saw nothing.  Our neighbors report hearing them.  I saw one in the middle of the afternoon crossing a field.  Before we bought our llama my husband came home for lunch and spotted one right behind the barn, eating a full-grown Horned Dorset ewe.  Her horn was caught in the fence.  Perhaps the coyote had run her up there, or saw her caught and came for an easy meal.  He ran across the pasture and sat at the edge of the woods just looking at Jim.  We called friends with rifles who came to help.  Two men went one way around the woods, Jim and another man went the other way and met in the back.  No sign of the coyote - they are very intelligent and have a range of around 10 miles.  He was even smart enough to not come back to finish the meal.
I feel somewhat better now that the sheep come into the lighted barnlot each night, but I know that the coyotes are capable of killing in the early morning, dusk, or even the middle of the afternoon.  These snares are designed to tighten around the coyote's neck like a choke collar on a dog.  The diameter that they are set is supposed to prevent the snaring of non-target animals.  
I feel that if men took the time to hunt and trap like they used to do years ago, predators would not be such a nuisance to livestock.  When deer season rolls around, there will be multiple groups of men around here swarming all over the place trying to get a trophy buck. 

                                                                      Mary Spahr
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.pairlist.net/pipermail/jacob-list/attachments/20001016/99301127/attachment.html