SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has set aside $500,000 for hunters who capture and kill coyotes.
The Mule Deer Protective Act, which went into effect in September, is meant to protect the state's deer population and to keep the coyote population under control.
"The purpose behind it is to try and reduce numbers of coyotes in areas where mule deer fawns are born and raised," said Mark Hadley, Division of Wildlife Resources.
In order to be eligible for the program, hunters need to take a short online registration course. Hunters are paid $50 for each coyote they kill. The bounty is paid after the ears and lower jaw of each animal are delivered to a designated checkpoint.
"Basically, there's no [...] hunting season on the animals. You don't have to have a license to take a coyote," Hadley said.
Coyotes are an unprotected species in Utah and recent sightings have increased. The animals are not usually dangerous to humans, but they can pose a threat to small children and small animals.
The DWR has already paid hunters over $159,000 in coyote bounties since September.
