This Animal-Killing Contest Rewards People who Gun Down Small, Innocent Animals
“Killing contests” are heartbreaking, disturbing tournaments in which hunters compete to see who is “best” at spilling the most amount of blood and butchering the most animals possible. The Eastern U.S. Predator Calling Championship in Virginia is one such grisly event. According to several undercover investigations by the Humane Society of the United States, some competitors even wield AR-15 guns as they hunt their innocent, defenseless prey. One investigator said it left critters’ “brains blown out or their guts hanging out.”
The Championship contest awards teams prizes for killing the smallest, heaviest, or most number of animals in any given species category. Those prizes include straight-up trophies, belt buckles, and even $25,600 for “winners.” In 2022’s contest, 127 teams competed, butchering a total of around 590 coyotes and dozens of foxes. The littlest fox slaughtered during the tournament was a slight 6.8 pounds, which is the size of a very small house cat or little dog. This sadistic violence serves no real purpose, other than bringing sadistic glee in overpowering a smaller animal and causing its sad, violent death. Virginia legislators were considering banning these mass-killing “games,” but chose not to. They must reconsider that move. Sign the petition to demand Virginia state lawmakers pass a bill to prohibit stomach-churning “killing contests!”