To the Editor: Vermont is no stranger to the wanton waste of wildlife.
Photos of coyote carcasses nailed to trees and crows killed in shooting contests with their lifeless bodies lined up for bragging rights, are easily found on Vermont social media. Wanton waste can be defined as hunting or trapping wildlife and not using any of the meat, fur, or other body parts.
Unlike other states, Vermont has no wanton waste prohibitions on game or furbearer species. A letter was sent to the Fish & Wildlife Board by a retired game warden in 2018 where he documented concerns as to the amount of wasteful killing he witnessed over the years from muskrats, to deer, to coyotes. Not surprisingly, the board never took up his petition, so Protect Our Wildlife decided to take it to the legislature, where there's a better chance for democracy.