Vermont Coyote Hounders Continue Intimidating and Harassing Landowners

On March 13, 2022 the same party of Addison County coyote hound hunters responsible for trespassing private lands in recent weeks, were again out hunting and harassing private landowners outside the small farming town of Shoreham. This time a private landowner came out to investigate suspected trespass and immediately became the target of their harassment.

Vermont’s pending Senate bill 281 would regulate coyote hunting with hounds and authorize 100 permits to hound hunters wishing to hunt coyotes with free roaming hounds. It would also require landowners to notify hound hunters that they are unwelcome, and require landowners to report trespassing to notify law enforcement before any future action could be taken to limit the trespass of free roaming coyote hunting hounds.

At 1:10, in the video VFWD officials claim wardens can adequately respond to hound trespass

Last week, officials with Vermont’s Fish & Wildlife Department (VFWD) testified to the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee that the agency’s warden service could adequately monitor the proposed 100 coyote hound hunters that S.281 would allow. Yet, when landowners called their local VFWD warden on March 13, 2022 during the confrontation with Addison County hound hunters, the warden responded that “his hands were full” and he was an hour away in Rutland, VT and could not respond.

Wolf Patrol is asking opponents of the trespass and cruelty that is inherent with coyote hunting with hounds, to contact Vermont’s legislators and ask that S.281 be amended to reduce the number of hounding permits that would be allowed, from 100 to 31 which is the actual number of wardens responsible for patrolling Vermont’s mountainous and rural 14 counties.