The Prohibit Wildlife Killing Contests Act of 2022 is sponsored by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) and 15 other Democrats who signed on as co-sponsors. It would require the managers of federal lands such as the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management or others to create rules banning any predator contests. If approved, those new rules would be required within a year. 

It was referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture on April 18, 2022. Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington State already ban predator hunting contests on their state lands. New York and Pennsylvania have considered similar bans. Cohen’s bill is supported by notable animal-rights anti-hunting activist groups including the Center for Biological Diversity and Animal Legal Defense Fund. 

Vermont predator hunters also currently are fighting efforts there to end hunting coyotes with hounds and trapping. A state bill would put a moratorium on hunting coyotes with hounds unless in self-defense or protection of property. Vermont legislators opted for the state’s fish and wildlife division to create regulations for trapping and hunting, instead of an outright ban.