BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho outfitter is organizing a post-Christmas contest in which hunters will be awarded cash prizes for shooting the biggest wolves and coyotes, an event that’s angering animal advocates who brand it a “wolf slaughter.”
Shane McAfee, who hunts for a living in the mountains surrounding Salmon, Idaho, downplays the bloodlust angle of this wolf and coyote derby, saying he doesn’t expect more than two or three wolves would be shot during the event Dec. 28 and Dec. 29.
McAfee says he’s aiming to raise awareness about a parasite that he believes could be transmitted from wolf feces to domestic dogs, and possibly to humans, though veterinary experts have assessed the risk as low.
The Humane Society of the United States, an animal rights group, says the event “takes us back to an earlier era of wanton killing.”
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