And there I was thinking that hazing was reserved to college students willing to pick up an olive with their butt cheeks. Apparently, it’s something residents of Minnesota’s fourth largest city need to know, coyote-wise. “Bloomington residents have been warned of a possible serial pet killer at large,” startribune.com reports. “The suspect: a coyote not afraid to hop fences or snatch small dogs a mere few feet from owners who watch helplessly as their pets are carried away. Because of the city’s proximity to the Minnesota River Valley, coyote sightings aren’t uncommon in Bloomington, Deputy Police Chief Mike Hartley said. But after attacks on six dogs — five of them fatal — in southwest Bloomington since July 28, police alerted residents on Friday.” So, shoot the bastard/bitch? Uh . . .

(courtesy Bloomington, MN Police Department)

“Recklessly discharging a firearm within a city of Minnesota is a felony offense,” cjglawoffice.com advises (for no fee). “In order to be found guilty of recklessly discharging a firearm within a municipality, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was some conscious or intentional act leading to the firearm discharging that created a substantial and unjustifiable risk, and the person causing the firearm discharge was aware of, but disregarded that risk.”

So, no shooting coyotes in Bloomington – unless you’re being attacked. “There’s no real easy solution, especially in an urban environment,” Deputy Police Chief Hartley said. Funny that no one’s mentioning Bloomington’s Animal Control Unit. Maybe that’s because they don’t see the four-legged varmints as, well, varmints.

Coyotes are one of nature’s ways of controlling nuisance wildlife populations, such as rabbits, small rodents and deer. They generally stay away from people and there have been no reports of coyotes being aggressive towards people in Bloomington or surrounding cities.

Sorry, but dogs are people too! Unless you’re a Gopher State SWAT team. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

93 COMMENTS

  1. If walking a small dog speak loudly and carry a large stick (can of pennys LOL). Seriously, self defense against coyote could mean a felony? Time for local bow hunters to have some fun.

  2. Wow not dangerous to people? Ever hear of rabies? They are even around here in southern cook co.,il as well as deer wandering around and various other critters. And ya’ can’t shoot ’em either. At least I haven’t heard(yet!) about how wonderful and beneficial coyotes are around here…

  3. To me it doesn’t sound like shooting a coyote in town falls into the category of “recklessly discharging a firearm within a city”, – if one takes certain reasonable precautions. The law requires “substantial and unjustifiable risk”. Follow the general 4 safety laws (primarily knowing your target and what is behind it) and there is extremely little risk involved.

    Don’t shoot the coyote with your 30-06 or .300 Weatherby magnum. Use a .22lr (something like Stingers), or a shotgun with birdshot. Don’t shoot the coyote if there are pregnant women or school busses immediately behind it. Shoot the coyote in a downward direction so that the bullet will go into the ground should it penetrate.

    Very little to worry about. The law prohibits “reckless” discharges in town, not any and all discharges except to save human life. Somebody shoot this stupid coyote. (But it won’t be me, I don’t want to take a chance with a felony charge) 🙂

    • Art out West,

      I often hear that dogs are property, not human life. I also hear that risk of damage to property (a.k.a. vandalism) is not sufficient cause to use deadly force (discharging a firearm). While your suggestions about being safe make a lot of sense, I am pretty sure the local police will take exception to such an action.

      If I lived in that town, I would carry a nice can of potent bear spray to hammer the coyote, as well as an actual hammer to hammer that coyote … or at least a nice piece of hickory to, shall we say, “dull” that coyote’s appetite for dogs.

      Oh, and one more thing. Your comment about shooting down into the ground being safe is a no-go unless you are shooting almost straight down. I just posted yesterday or the day before how my target shooting one time resulted in bullets skipping off of the Earth when I was shooting from what I thought was way too steep of an angle for bullets to skip.

    • I think you’re right concerning the felony charge, at least if you use bird shot and nobody is hurt and no property is damaged. But there’s probably a misdemeanor charge for ‘discharging a firearm within the city limits’ that you’d probably get slapped with. This is an inner suburb of a metropolitan area of 3.5 million people, they’re not going to just let people take matters into their own hands without any punishment.

      And as far as u_s’s point, I don’t think laws concerning lethal force are applicable firing on non-humans.

      • Gov.

        Anything (human or animal) attacking your dog is not justification to use lethal force because you are only facing property (dog) damage. In terms of public policy, our policymakers believe that damage to property does not warrant risking human life with a possible errant projectile.

        Now, if you step between a coyote and your dog and the coyote still approaches, you might (with heavy emphasis on the word “might”) be able to argue that you were in fear of great bodily harm which justified shooting at the coyote. Even then you are on shaky ground because any reasonably fit adult shouldn’t have too much trouble sending a 30 pound coyote into canine heaven with one really good kick to its body. Is there a decent chance that the coyote might bite you and leave some nasty marks in the process? Sure. Nevertheless, some nasty marks from a 30 pound coyote probably will not constitute “great bodily harm” in the minds of many potential jurors. If you end up a defendant in court, I would say there is a pretty good chance that you will lose your case.

        For those reasons I suggest you carry a nice piece of oak or hickory if you think you might run into a coyote that has lost its fear of humans.

        • If you’re standing between a coyote and his desired prey and he still comes toward you I’d say it’s a reasonable assumption that the coyote is rabid and therefor very much poses a risk of ‘great bodily harm’. At any rate, I highly doubt that there are very many DAs in this country that would actually bring felony charges in such an event and even fewer juries that would convict you of a felony. On the other hand, misdemeanor charges are often brought because our overlords often figure you’ll just pay the fine instead of spending twice as much fighting the charges.

        • Gov.

          The rabies angle could be interesting.

          Each person will have to evaluate the possible risks and decide for themselves.

        • Yes, of course there are jurisdictions where you effectively have a duty to be a victim. Personally I’d bury they coyote and deny knowing anything about any gunshots just to avoid the $400 fine.

          BTW, every household should have a firearm, fire extinguisher and a shovel.

        • GenghisQuan,

          Roundhouse kick for a coyote doesn’t make any sense unless the coyote is at least 5 feet tall … and I haven’t seen any 5 foot tall coyotes.

          I was thinking more along the lines of place kicking a football with the coyote acting as the football. I would be going for a 40 yard field goal with 2 seconds left on the clock. If you managed to connect with such a kick to a coyote’s body, it would shatter ribs, destroy internal organs and limbs, and knock the wind out of the coyote. Remember your average western coyote only weighs 30 pounds or so.

        • The well-fed coyotes who live in the So Cal suburbs can be as big as a healthy GSD. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen more than one feral coy-dog while out running trails, and I would no longer tussle with them than I would a feral pitbull or GSD. Add two or three or more and you are in a world of hurt if you cant find a way to fort up, or get up a tree or something.

          http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Garritson-Brothers-Mauled-Dogs-Run-Valley-Center–134587718.html

        • Gov, I once called Vector Control in San Diego County to get the low down on rabies in mammals- and they said it had been twenty years since a documented case was found in a coyote- much more likely in bats, however.

          A coyote approaching you without fear has probably been fed by hand by some nitwit. Once knew an old lady who would toss left over Kentucky Fried over the fence every evening to the coyotes that showed up on time – and was showing her visiting toddler grandson the same, one day, until the neighbors kindly reminded her it might not be entirely wise to do so.

  4. I’ve been losing goats, geese and barn cars to coyotes for years. We generally don’t see them and if one comes near you, it probably has rabies. They are very smart and they are hard to hunt and shoot. If I see one, I’m going to shoot at it. In Virginia, they are a pest and can be shot all year long. I’m glad I live where there is relative freedom when compared with many other places.

  6. If I have to put up with coyotes getting into my sheep (according to peta) then those that support PETA can put up with losing their little dogs. (BTW, coyotes have been documented attacking humans..just look it up)

    • Yes, when I was in middle school and living out in the boonies a coyote shot out of the scrub brush and tried to eat my buddy, Tony. Thankfully it had to cover like 75 feet of lawn to reach him and he took off running towards the house while our dog immediately took off sprinting from the house in his direction. The dog got to Tony before the coyote got to Tony, and the coyote changed its mind damn quick. Never seen an animal pull such a sharp 180 haha. Annie, the dog, wasn’t a particularly menacing border collie / aussie mix but she sure saved Tony’s bacon that day. Unfortunately neither my pellet guns nor .22 were available at that moment for comment.

  7. “The suspect: a coyote not afraid to hop fences or snatch small dogs a mere few feet from owners who watch helplessly as their pets are carried away.
    One problem Collie Shepherds, Labs, and Malamutes do not have.

    • I respectfully disagree. Coyotes live by killing, are very smart and have amazing agility. Domestic dogs have little chance against them. Also I am surprised at such a reaction from a community in Minnesota. Even here in the people’s socialist republic of NY we are allowed to hunt them 6 months of year. No bag limit, don’t even have to bag them, and can hunt day or night.

      • I’ll disagree. Coyotes ripped my neighbor’s cats to shreds. They haven’t touched my 53 pound lab / beagle mix nor my 75-80 pound pure bred Weimaraner. Coyotes may be tougher than many dogs pound per pound, but they don’t go looking for fair fights. If the coyotes who killed my neighbor’s cats could have taken out my dogs they would have done so.

        Now if ‘yotes wanted my neighbor’s 15-pound terrier, it would be toast.

      • Depends on the breed. A Labrador or Golden not much of a chance. Rottweiler, Cane Corso, Grand Pyrenees or Plott Hound the coyote is meat.

        • tdiinva, you have not met my Cane Corso, ‘Vinney’; he would only consider a coyote a treat if he tried to take his dinner, or his place on our bed. My female, Sophie, is a different story.

        • I’ve seen some really Cane Corso’s, and I’ve seen one that was just way too dominant. I’m looking for a new family dog, something that can come in the house and hang out with the kids. The Cane Corso is a breed I’m considering. How are yours with kids?

        • Found a dead but still warm older lab mix on a road just down the hill from a playground, one morning on a walk in an urban open space park in my socal neighborhood a few years ago-

          throat slit, bled out, just like some of the reports of near surgical cuts on dead cats that sparked “satanist ritual” rumors elsewhere-

          poor old thing had a collar and tag, but no chance – my guess the owner, or kids left the gate open, and it went for a walk where its family normally took it every so often.

          Google coyote cheek teeth, and how they use them:

        • JWT, you might consider the Lion Dog, the German Shephard of South Africa, aka Rhodesian Ridgeback, if only because of the climate and conditions where it sounds like you hunt and live mostly.

          Great family dogs, reserved with strangers, natural home defenders, smart and clever, not receptive at all to domination by force, and need an owner they respect who will rule with firm positive reinforcement- that you sound like the right guy.
          They are very loyal, and highly heat tolerant and strong hunters with high prey drive-

          a combination of all the sight and smell hounds, and guard breeds the European farmers brought with them, that they cross-bred with native dogs that so impressed them semi-domesticated by the Hottentots (Khoi Khoi tribe) which trained them to protect the kraal, from lions and hyenas, and find their own food too.

          You might have to get one from a breeder from there – I think the US ones are getting kind of chi-chi’d from showing AKC, instead of hunting- when my old pound puppy rescued femail Rhodie-golden cross passes thats my next dog.

          Tom in Oregon, any experience with those?

      • TommyG, I’m not sure what you mean by “reaction” here in MN. We hunt coyotes here legally year round with no tag required. Bag as many as you want, anytime you want here in MN. You just can’t shoot in city limits. But trust me, the coyotes are being hunted not far from Bloomington city limit.

    • I was making this very point with my wife a few minutes ago. I would love to capture on video the sight of a ‘yote bounding over our fence expecting an easy meal only to find himself facing 95lbs of angry Plott Hound. Mt. Jethro is kind of a pussie but the ‘yote won’t know that. Besides, Plotts always act like pussies right up to the point that they don’t. For a fat boy Mr. Jethro is awfully quick.

      • Took my rhodie mix and big old GSD for a walk every night just after sun-down after work, in the open space outside my house at the time, with a sure-fire and heavy staff, and when we got eyeshine, we’d walk that way, and just keep pushing them…

        Never let my dogs off leash, of course- but they sure enjoyed the game, and those ‘yotes got to where they would just trot off after awhile, out of habit.

        Call me weird but me and the dogs all marked our territory, too- on the game trails and potential den sites for a quarter mile all around my house- seemed to keep them in somebody elses back yard, across the canyon, instead of mine, anyway…

  8. And now in the liberal loonie lands the rape whistle can now do double duty and girly men can carry one too. Be sure to by the one that matches your man purse and shoes!

  9. “Coyotes are one of nature’s ways of controlling nuisance wildlife populations, such as rabbits, small rodents and YIPPY LITTLE DOGS.”

    Fixed that for ya.

    Meanwhile… Subsonic .22LR. It’s a thing. Makes about as much noise out of a rifle as a good spit. Perfect for covert suburban eradication hunts. Just sayin.

    • My experience in CA is that animal control doesn’t do wildlife like yotes and pigs. They refer you to fish and game types.

      • yep, and CA DFG being the no-longer-git-r-done hunters as game wardens of old,

        but instead the new generation of PC tree-hugging vegetarian, special snowflake children-of-aging-hippies-and-gaia worshipers,

        will in turn shrug in disdain and tell you by policy cant do anything unless a person or animal is hurt or killed and documented…

        so there you are, on your own until then.

        I find a wrist-rocket and 3/8″ ball bearings to be a much better solution than DFG, to my nuisance night visitor problems, anyway.

    • Yeah, Bow or Crossbow, little bulky an hard to keep out of sight ….. But i’d lean more towards a suppressed .22 LR or .17 HMR I think.

  13. Some of our relatives live in a Denver suburb. When parents complained about the risk to their children from coyotes prowling playgrounds, they were given the same BS that it’s the coyotes’ home, too. Had I been there, I would have asked the council member if he thought “Coyotes before kids” would be a winning re-election platform.

    The hottest pepper spray you can find would be a good idea. Joggers in my neighborhood carry medium-sized clubs to use on unfriendly stray dogs.

    • I still remember ads, shortly after the Wall fell, for surplus/”used” East German police truncheons.

  14. I may be wrong and Im not an expert on them but that looks more like a CoyWolf than a Coyote. Yes, there is a cross breed and yes they have been seen in the upper Midwest.
    They are a bit bigger than a Coyote but smaller than a wolf. The bioligist that have studied them have stated that they (CoyWolfs) seem to have the best of both species, smart, adaptive, can be aggressive, selective, and seem to be moving west and south from their Canadian origins.
    If this is a CW then it seem likely that it has a mate and Cubs in the near area which its protecting and feeding.
    Coyotes are very seldom this bold or aggressive. The CoyWolf however seems to be more wolf like in this regard.
    This may or may not be be a possibility in this case but worth looking at.

  17. How much you wanna bet when the mayors wife’s little dog becomes coyote food, swat gets tapped to hunt the suckers down, guns a blazing?

  20. I have perfected this method and any readers of TTAG may use it without paying a fees as long as you identify me as the developer:

    1. Load S&W M&P 22 full size with CCI mini-mags, the 36 grain copper jacketed hollow points badasses. (You may find other .22 pistols or rifles may work just as well but i HIGHLY recommend the CCI mini mags)
    2. Hook up the Jack Russel terriers as prey animals to the 30 foot leads. Either holster or carry the .22 pistol
    3. When the coyote emerges from cover, carefully aim your first shot while attempting to restrain the prey animals who may be just as interested in killing the coyote as you are. Feel free to use all 12 rounds if you’re not attempting to save the pelt.
    4. Call your buddy Vern to see if he wants another pelt if it is not to damaged.
    5. If Vern doesn’t want it, put the prey animals away and get the Mahindra out of the shed. Using the backhoe, dig a hole deep enough to scoop the coyote up and dump him in. Remember: dig away from the last one because the smell will linger for days if you expose it.
    6. Put the Mahindra away, pop a Corona and set back down on the porch. When the Sheriff’s deputy arrives and asks if you have heard any gunshots, reply by saying, “Huh?”
    7. Remember to be neighborly. If you hear a couple shots from the neighbor’s place down the road, fire up the Mahindra and head over there to give him a hand.

  21. Obviously living down by the river and coming up in the green belts to hunt. Would be pretty difficult to hunt it down there–to many places to hide or simply run off if humans approach. Want to haze him? Shotgun full of rock salt will chase him off for a while, and no worry about felony charges. Maybe a Taurus Judge would do better.

  22. The idea that predators are afraid of humans is a dangerous myth. Until a predatory species come in regular contact with humans all you can say is they don’t know humans. As coyotes, bears, mountain lions and wolves come into regular contact with humans their behavior changes. If they do not see us a threat they get bolder around us. They will grab pets, then children and occasionally an adult. All to often wild life “experts” extrapolate predator behavior in isolated areas or areas where they are hunted to animals that live in proximity to urban/suburban areas. If they don’t see as a threat they will eventually see us as a meal. The best wat to prevent that from happening is to shoot them as they become a nuisance. Then they will learn to stay away. That is better for both us and the beast in the garden.

      • Someday a moutain lion will snatch someone In Western Wisconsin. It could happen tomorrow or five years from now, but it is going to happen.

        “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. ” in this context fear means respect and honor. I respect apex predators and honor the threat with the appropriate firearm. (A 1911 chambered in 10mm)

      • From that entry: “In a study male eastern coyotes averaged a weight of 34 pounds; there is a verified case of two coyotes killing a female moose weighing over 400 lbs.”

        Holy crap.

  23. “owners who watch helplessly”

    Are these the same people who are “parents who watch helplessly?”

    Blame the guns. It’s Bush’s fault. Reality is an evil republican conspiracy.

  24. The coyote attacked me..I was in fear of my life…Do they have SYG & Castle Doctrine in MN?

    Even in my area (powder blue suburbs of a major northeastern city), the local government wouldn’t complain if I shot a predator that was snatching pets (as long as I didn’t shoot anything else). Just can’t discharge firearms for fun.

  28. In the southeastern city that I live, I called the police about how to dispatch a family of raccoons that had taken residence in a tree in the back yard, and were driving our dog crazy. We have seen large and small fox, and a coyote in the neighborhood as well — the subdivision is surrounded by woods and borders a reservoir lake. Small black bears run through town periodically and of course deer come out of the woods. Every year the county has rabies warnings, because the varmints do have rabies. The police say that ANY discharge of a firearm, to include air rifles, is illegal within city limits (except for self defense). This does not stop the bangers on the other side of town from almost daily shootouts, and of course is ridiculous, but as hoplophobic as some people are, I could see neighbors calling the police and then my CCW permit is in jeopardy. The guns that I have are not exactly silent, but I would have gone out and bought a high powered air rifle with the .17 hmr or .22 pellets just to take care of the varmints. Neither police nor animal control, which I called later, had anything to offer about how to get rid of them. PS. The raccoons moved on themselves, but it is insane that we cannot directly address the rabid varmint problem.

    • Here is a trick I learned from a wildlife removal guy, for how to get racoons out of your attic, where they will often go to have their litter-

      1. Do not close off the exit route.
      2. Make a racket and give them plenty of time to move away
      3. Put a radio or small stereo at end of extenstion cord, in the den, turned up with punk rock station for 24 hours.
      4. Remove next day, and seal entry and exits.
      5. wear a mask and rubber gloves- coons have some nasty parasites and a bad virus in their poop you dont want to breathe in, while in enclosed spaces.

    • yep, that guy is a born sociopath, or has had a psychotic break – either way, should be automatically referred to mental health eval and 72 hour hold, and disqualified as a prohibited person.

      But then again, that would probably eliminate 30% of the staff of any LEA force, in Amerika, these days.

  30. Ok, I have just followed the advice in the video in a vain attempt at getting my Red Tick to vacate a chair that she isn’t suppise to sit in — Epic Fail.

  31. From my experience with coyotes, they’ll soon learn the hazing is harmless and ignore it.

    • and then lose their fear of humans. The next step in the cycle is that they will want to check us out as a food source starting with minature humans

  33. I live in a small community 20 miles outside of Portland OR and virtually everyone has had a cat taken by coyotes. I have no problem dealing with the aftermath to protect my dog (no more cats for our household) if I had to drop a coyote. We hear them every night in the woods not far from my house, so no doubt they are well fed and continue to breed.

    The four rules of gun safety still apply…got to know what’s beyond the coyote if it get’s to that. Not necessarily looking for any interaction with wild animals, but prepared to protect my property if it comes to it.

  36. Feed a really annoying yappy dog a lot of rat poison, then tie it outside Jurassic Park style and hope the coyote ingests the poison.

    I can see the PETA torches coming my way now…

  37. Get a bow and a truck. Load em up dump em when it’s dark. There’s no hunting license needed in the state and it’s doubtful your neighbors will report you. Maybe once theres an entire ditch filled with the scummy varmits then the city will do something about it.

  40. Officer Carlson neglected to mention the self-defense methods to employ along with the rape whistle: projectile vomiting, and soiling oneself.

    The northeastern city I live in (located in a state with a thriving population of coyote-wolf hybrids) has a no-projectile law. That’s right. Not even a snowball. Thank goodness the rest of the state isn’t as liberal.

  41. No one has any room to whine about coyotes any other wildlife until they have a decent fence around their property. Decent fence being chain link, welded wire, cattle panels, etc. “But my losses” is essentially always a bottom barrel excuse to go out and shoot something because it gives you pleasure.

    I’m in the middle of the sticks and the only critters that get through the fence are rabbits and snakes.

  42. Coyotes also see small children as happy meals. I see it around my house its maggot food.

    BTW id animal control would get off their lazy over paid asses this coyote wouldnt be a problem.

  43. Minneapolis is hopelessly progtarded, and so is this public service message from the beta male animal control weener.

    A coyote that is habituated to eating pets is one step from grabbing your toddler, and can just as easily go over the six foot fence around your suburban back yard with that prey as it does with the dogs and cats on the sad handwritten “missing” signs posted around the neighborhood, that you will maybe find traces of in the scat in the bushes and alleys.

    Coyotes are the most successfully adapted urban predator in North America.
    Vs a hungry pack of coyotes, the average human who is not prepared to physically fight back simply has no chance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Mitchell

    • Just go to google and type in “coyote attacks child” and see how many hits come up. Coyotes can and will eat your children.

      BTW Coyotes were spoted in NYC about 10 years ago. They are everywere.

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