November 17, 2013; KRQE-TV News 13
Every now and then, NPQ comes across a so-called charity event that appears to potentially threaten the brand of the charity. In some cases, the charity turns the gift offer down, but in some cases, the acceptance binds the event to the charity in the eyes of the public, and when the public has strong feelings against the event the organization…well, there may be losses.
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A pawnshop sponsored a Coyote Kill Contest this weekend, saying that half the proceeds will go to the Children’s Outdoor Adventure Association. “They take children who have cancer, disabilities, they take them out either hunting, fishing, camping, basically whatever their last wish is,” Alan Flaig of the Guns and Gold Pawn Shop explained.
Around 70 people went out in teams of two to hunt coyotes for prizes, while protestors stood outside the University of New Mexico campus calling wildlife killing contests a “blood sport.”
“There’s other ways to raise money, killing for entertainment is still killing for entertainment, and charity is no excuse to go out and kill as many animals as you can,” said Elizabeth Dicharry, a contest protestor.
Hunting coyotes is legal in New Mexico, and Flaig said the contest helps ranchers rid their properties of the coyotes. “I don’t know why they’re going after these contests, they’ve been going on for years and years and years. It’s one way of putting a little bit of control on the coyote,” he said.—Ruth McCambridge
