Hunters may get $25 bounty for each coyote killed in Pa.

    Hunters in Pennsylvania could collect a bounty for coyotes under a measure passed by the state House.

    Legislation would allow the Pennsylvania Game Commission to turn hunters and fur-takers loose on the booming coyote population and $25 for every carcass they bring in.

    The measure wouldn’t provide the commission any additional funding. Instead, the agency could take as much as $700,000 from its own revenues, most of which come from hunting license fees — a revenue source it has called “relatively fixed.”

    The Game Commission has not taken a position on the bill.

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    Sarah Speed, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania chapter of the Humane Society, says money shouldn’t be diverted from other Game Commission programs to keep coyotes in check in this manner.

    The coyote-control program could result in reckless firing on pet dogs, she said.

    The measure, which passed without debate in the House, now goes to the Senate.

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