Men Who Filmed Dogs Mauling Coyote Face Criminal Charges in Michigan

MICHIGAN -- Two Michigan men accused of filming a group of hunting dogs mauling a coyote will face felony and misdemeanor charges, authorities announced last week. 

The law enforcement division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources began investigating the men after they posted a video online, where they encouraged three hunting dogs to attack a wounded coyote.

After being shot and collapsing from exhaustion and pain, there
will be no quick death for this poor thing.

 

 

“We’re going to let them finish this thing off,” one of the men in the video can be heard saying about the coyote as he hears the hounds approach. “He might have a little fight left in him. His eyes are open.”

At one man’s order, the radio-collared dogs then begin biting and violently shaking the coyote, which loudly yelps and can be seen bleeding and fighting back in vain. The final frames shows the coyote motionless, laying bloodied in the snow.

The video, entitled “Hounds Fight Wounded Yote,” was initially posted to YouTube in Feb. 2014. It has since been removed.

The investigation also discovered a second video at one suspect’s property, featuring a coyote that was allegedly injured after being purposefully struck by the man’s truck. In the video, the men film and talk about the animal for several minutes before dispatching it with a revolver.

  

  

  

 

  

  

The POS filming calls out encouragement to his dogs which maul this
poor little coyote to death. It is one of the most disgusting things I've seen.

Apparent from the charges, investigators believe the incident captured in the video crossed the line from hunting into something closer to animal abuse.

One of the men faces a charge of killing/torturing animals, a felony with the possibility of a four-year jail sentence. He could also be charged with four misdemeanors, general violation of wildlife conservation, two counts of abandonment/cruelty to an animal, and taking game from a vehicle.
Punishments for each violation range around 90 days in jail.

The second suspect will also face a felony charge of killing/torturing animals and a misdemeanor count of abandonment/cruelty to an animal.

(Wide Open Spaces.com - Jan 20, 2015)