On May 8, 2025, Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission reaffirmed their decision to protect coyotes who are denning and raising young pups. Back in March 2024, the commission voted 4-2 to shorten the coyote hunting season from year-round to nine months, reversing a prior decision in 2016. Citing ethics, the importance of fair chase and public input from Michigan residents, this rule change made it unlawful to hunt coyotes on public land between April 16 and July 14, protecting young pups dependent on their parents from being orphaned.
Despite their ecological importance, coyotes are subject to relentless persecution across much of their range. Predator hunting and trapping groups, unhappy with any limitation of coyote hunting, sued the Commission in an attempt to force the year-round season to return. Hunter coalitions claimed giving coyotes a reprieve was not “science-based decision making” and that it was “the American hunter’s role to control populations and help ecosystems thrive”, not native carnivores. Others described coyotes as threats to deer herds and “doing the most damage to a great deal of our wildlife”, demonstrating a lack of respect for the role of carnivores in the ecosystem.
However, Michigan’s ethical choice to shorten the coyote hunting season isn’t unscientific – values inform all wildlife decision-making. Science can be cited to support for or against one’s position, but science cannot dictate that states should allow unlimited killing of coyotes. In actuality, hunting groups defend positions based on their own value judgements and beliefs (that wildlife agencies should prioritize game species and the interests of hunters) just as much as coyote advocates.
In a court filing, the Michigan NRC cited their findings that a year-round coyote season didn’t significantly increase the number of coyotes killed, reduce conflicts with humans or livestock, or increase deer populations for hunters. Additionally, some Michigan cities have acknowledged that fewer than 1% of coyotes exhibit aggressive or nuisance behaviors (which communities can mitigate by not feeding coyotes or conditioning them to humans).
This month, the NRC stood firm for a second time, leaving the shortened season in place for now. This decision affirms the importance of public wildlife advocacy. With persistence, we can challenge dominant narratives and successfully advocate for and build a more just system for all wildlife species. Reforming wildlife management means respecting and valuing all wildlife species, including coyotes and other carnivores.
