California wildlife officials have banned coyote hunting contests that offered cash and prizes up to $500 to the top marksman and sparked a culture clash in the state.
A vote Wednesday by the state's Fish and Game Commission allows hunters to shoot as many of the predators as they wish year-round in unlimited numbers, but there may no longer be prizes awarded.
Camilla Fox of the Coyote Project led the move to ban the hunting derbies, which she considers immoral and reprehensible.
She says the killing contests should be relegated to the history books.
Cattleman Buck Parks, who organizes an annual hunt in Northern California, says people opposed to the hunts don't understand the damage coyotes do to livestock.
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