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Trail camera films cougar hunting deer
Trail camera footage captured the moment when a wild cougar in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan caught a deer. Video courtesy of Eli Schaefer
LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - Following a lengthy discussion at their monthly meeting, the Natural Resources Commission approved shortening the season when coyotes can be hunted in Michigan.
The policy change amends the year-round hunting schedule to restrict people from harvesting coyotes from April 15 to July 15. The late spring and early summer restriction is when their young are most dependent on their mothers.
Private landowners will still be allowed to hunt coyotes if they are doing damage to livestock on their own land.
Concerns over the social perception of hunting during whelping season and the future loss of management tools spurred the policy change after recommendation from the Department of Natural Resources.
The Natural Resources Commission voted 4-2 in favor of the switch.
Not everyone was happy with the decision, including the Michigan United Conservation Clubs. Its executive officer argued "no scientific evidence" justified shortening the hunting season. The MUCC also argued the commission should have waited until the group overseeing management of deer in Michigan published its recommendation around predators.
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But according to DNR Biologist Brian Roell, some opponents of the rule change were misinterpreting what informed the decision.
"People were throwing the word ‘science’ out there thinking it would answer the question. It predicts an outcome - it doesn't tell you whether you should shorten the season to hunt or don't hunt," he said.
The original shift to year-round coyote hunting season happened in 2016. Over a five-year period, the DNR did not report any increase in the number of harvests or the number of coyotes harvested per hunter.
The decision was supported by the majority of members with the Furtaker User Group. According to a memo sent to the NRC, the recommendation also had the support of trapping and hound hunting groups, "due to public perception and potential future impacts to their hunting and trapping opportunities."
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