The Impact of Coyotes on Wild Game and Livestock

Over the past five years, the fur market has steadily declined. While this may seem unrelated to wildlife management, it has had real consequences. As fur loses value, fewer trappers participate, resulting in reduced harvest of fur-bearing predators such as coyotes. When predator populations go unmanaged, overpopulation becomes inevitable.

As predator numbers increase, pressure on natural food sources grows. Coyotes and other predators are forced closer to farms, towns, and residential areas in search of food. This often leads to livestock losses, attacks on poultry, pets, and increased nuisance activity such as scavenging garbage and feed. These impacts directly affect farmers’ livelihoods and community safety.

The data supports these concerns. In Wisconsin, cattle deaths caused by predators are heavily influenced by coyotes, accounting for approximately 23.4% of all cattle losses. More notably, coyotes are responsible for roughly 37.6% of predator-related calf deaths—exceeding losses attributed to wolves. Coyotes also play a significant role in wild game mortality, particularly among deer fawns and ground-nesting birds such as ducks and pheasants.

Several states have addressed this issue by restoring value to predator harvest. South Dakota’s Nest Predator Bounty Program incentivizes the harvest of coyotes, raccoons, skunks, opossums, and red fox—species known to prey heavily on nesting birds. Utah operates a similar predator-control program focused on coyotes, offering financial incentives to hunters and trappers. These programs demonstrate that responsible, regulated predator harvest can successfully reduce populations and ease pressure on wildlife and livestock.

If Wisconsin adopted a comparable approach for fur-bearing predators, it could help rebalance predator populations, reduce livestock losses, improve duck and pheasant recruitment, and preserve long-standing hunting and trapping traditions. By giving fur-bearing animals value again, participation increases—and with it, healthier ecosystems and stronger rural communities.