Michigan’s decision to allow year-round coyote hunting has prompted a lawsuit from the animal rights group Humane World for Animals in Ingham County Circuit Court, according to The Detroit News. The group argues the policy ignores scientific guidance and could increase conflicts with farm animals, highlighting tensions between wildlife advocates and hunting interests.
According to Bridge Michigan, the commission’s January vote established a new “management season,” allowing year-round coyote hunting. Humane World for Animals opposes the change and wants a three-month “quiet period” to protect mothers and pups. The group argues the vote was rushed and lacked proper scientific review, coming shortly after a 2024 decision that had preserved a non-hunting period.
In 2024, an Ingham County judge upheld the commission’s decision to limit coyote hunting to nine months, despite lawsuits from hunting and trapping groups claiming the decision was influenced by public opinion rather than science, according to WLNS. Humane World for Animals now alleges a similar lack of scientific basis in its own lawsuit and argues the recent policy change violated the commission’s two-year regulatory cycle.
Officials from the Natural Resources Commission have declined to comment on the ongoing lawsuit. Michigan state director for Humane World for Animals, Mitchell Nelson, told WLNS, “The Natural Resources Commission is bowing to the demands of hunting groups for a return to cruel, pointless, year-round coyote killing that will leave dependent pups to starve.” The case marks another flashpoint in Michigan’s ongoing debate over conservation, hunting, and animal welfare.
