There is a reason behind the derbies.
Via Helena IR:
Predator derbies and using vehicles to kill predators would be outlawed under a pair of bills heard Tuesday.
Sen. Mike Phillips, D-Bozeman, brought Senate Bills 186 and 187 to the Senate Fish and Game Committee. While the bills deal with predatory animals in the state, which include coyotes and skunks under the law, the legislation is mainly focused on coyotes. Predators and nongame animals can be hunted year-round and with fewer restrictions than other species such as big game animals or upland birds.
SB 186 would prohibit predator derbies – contests typically based on killing numbers of coyotes and occasionally other animals such as foxes. Phillips argued that the derbies both encourage “needless violence,” but also do not follow known wildlife management practices, which call for targeting specific animals that may be predating on livestock.
“We all know that they’re intelligent social animals, taking their life is not an inconsequential activity,” Phillips said of coyotes. “I believe these derbies make it so.”