The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission banned coyote killing contests Friday, though the new rule doesn't prevent coyote killing on private land.

After hearing from dozens of constituents, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted Friday to ban coyote-killing contests in the state, although the action left untouched a big loophole that allows the killing of coyotes and other predators on private property.

The decision, requested by The Humane Society of the United States and other conservation groups, followed months of delay while the commission pursued a legally defensible path.

The commission met in Bend Friday, with the proceedings viewable live online.

In the end, all but one member of the commission voted for the ban, which doesn’t apply to the state-protected ability of land owners to kill predatory coyotes on private property.

“I’m struggling to see what this solves,” said Commissioner Leslie King of Portland, who abstained from voting.

State law specifically allows the taking of predatory animals, including feral swine, coyotes, rabbits, rodents and birds that may be destructive to agricultural crops. That taking may be by poisoning, trapping or “other appropriate and effective means.”

At least 33 people addressed the commission during its meeting, with each person allotted two minutes. Testimony was taken in person and via an audio-visual link. Hundreds of people submitted written testimony, too.

The commission last year was asked via petition to ban the contests, but delayed action in December and instead directed staff to come up with a rule that would be legally defensible and fall within its authority.

The Humane Society of the United States, which took a lead role in supporting the ban, claimed last year that 1,000 coyotes had been killed in the previous four years in Oregon in contests where prizes were awarded to the person bringing in the most dead coyotes.

The kills included 300 coyotes taken over a two-day period last year in the Harney County Coyote Classic, according to the organization.

It’s not clear if any such contests have taken place in southwest Oregon, although coyotes roam the region. Rancher Randy Wolf of Eagle Point, president of the Jackson County Stockmen’s Association, said he’s lost cattle to coyotes.

“Coyotes are an issue if they’re not kept in check,” he said. “They can become a problem. I shoot them on a regular basis. They are very detrimental to cattle and sheep.”

He said coyotes “pack up” and that he witnessed four of them once close in on a cow giving birth.

“When I start seeing the numbers rising, I start shooting,” he said. l’ve probably killed 30.”

Wolf didn’t testify on the proposed ban, and said he wasn’t aware it was up for discussion.

The Oregon Hunters Association, the Oregon Farm Bureau and the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association in written testimony stated that proposals to ban contests have come before the Legislature three times, most recently in 2021, but never won approval. The organizations contended that the commission didn’t have authority to impose a ban.

Tyler Dungannon, conservation director of the Oregon Hunters Association, told the commission Friday that its authority to regulate the “manner” of killing predators was limited to “what weapon you use” and that “contests are not a manner of taking.” A ban, he said, “is outside the commission’s authority.”

At times, the discussion veered into whether the ban was an issue pitting urban Oregon against rural parts of the state.

“It appears as though our way of life … is continually under attack,” said John Rowell, a Grant County commissioner. “Agriculture relies on predator control.”

Rowell said the ban was a direct attack on the agricultural community and “against our cultural identity.”

Quinn Reed, conservation director for Portland Audubon, contended otherwise.

“Despite rhetoric to the contrary, this is not an urban vs. rural issue,” he said. “This is about how Oregon treats the public’s wildlife. Oregon’s wildlife belongs to all of us.”

King, the lone commissioner to not vote for the ban, wondered about the issue becoming divisive.

“Are we just going to create more animosity, more rural vs. urban?” she said.

King also brought up the state Legislature’s role — or non-role — in the matter.

“I was thinking this was an end run around the Legislature,” she said.

Former state Rep. Bradley Witt, who represented northwest Oregon in the Legislature until early this year, said he’s a gun enthusiast, but that he supports the ban, which he viewed as an example of good government.

“Oregon’s wildlife by statute is owned by all of the public and therefore should be managed in the public interest,” he said.

Danielle Moser, wildlife program manager for Oregon Wild, a conservation organization with offices in Bend, Eugene and Portland, viewed the contests as cruel.

“The act of killing as many as possible … is blood sport,” she said.

Commissioner Mark Labhart of Sisters explained his vote: “I just cannot support the ethics of [a contest], and I’m an avid hunter.”

Commissioner Becky Hatfield-Hyde of Paisley wanted it clear that the ban had no effect on private property.

“This is not going to limit a private landowner from taking a predator if they feel it’s necessary,” she said. “It’s really important to me understanding what it means and what it doesn’t mean.”

As if to underscore her concerns about the meaning of the commission’s actions, the Humane Society issued a news release Friday stating, “Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission ends wildlife killing contests,” without stating that the commission’s authority was limited when it came to predators on private property.

According to a commission staff report, the new rule would make it unlawful to organize, sponsor, conduct or participate in a contest that has the objective of killing unprotected mammals native to Oregon, but it specifically provides an exemption for control of predatory animals. The rule “may not impede upon predatory animal control activities authorized in statute” and may “not prevent a landowner from using a contest as a manner of controlling predatory animals on their property as authorized pursuant to ORS 610.105.”

According to a news release issued late Friday by ODFW, state statutes classify coyotes and some other unprotected mammals as predatory animals when they are causing agricultural damage on private land. Predatory animals do not include carnivores like bears, cougars and wolves, which are classified as game mammals.