Last week in the wooded hills of Berkeley, California, Hadley Louden's outdoor cat was reportedly killed by a coyote. So he did what any animal lover would—he put a $250 bounty out for "all Dead Coyotes."
"Are you tired of Coyotes threatening your homes, children and pets, tired of elderly women now carrying Beaters and people carrying their dogs while walking . . . or just not walking?" he posted on Facebook. "Government hands seem tied on this, so we're taking an old-fashioned approach here: $250 offered for each dead coyote caught within 15 miles of my home."
From Berkeleyside:
Shortly after the post was published, a California Fish and Wildlife warden gave Louden a call letting him know that offering a bounty for dead coyotes is against state law. Louden had previously been in contact with the warden about a coyote that was stalking their cats.
"You can't legally offer a bounty or a price or anything at all to kill wildlife in California," said Capt. Patrick Foy of Fish and Wildlife's law enforcement division."…
In conversations with Berkeleyside on Tuesday, Louden said he is heartbroken about Moka and that he had only meant to offer compensation to people who legally killed coyotes. He stressed that he's not advocating for the breaking of any laws. "Technically, it's not a 'reward' but compensation for professional trapping services performed within the law," he said.
