There's a mammalian holocaust in progress out on the open range. The victim? Canis latrans, the coyote--native resident of the plains, wily and prolific scourge of sheep and cattle herds. The perpetrators? Big, beer-bellied guys in camouflage and John Deere hats packing high-tech rifles and gunning for cash prizes as part of an annual Southwest bounty fest. And they're not the only ones loaded for canine. Animal Damage Control (ADC), a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has its own agenda concerning the "management" of predators such as Señor Coyote. Killing Coyote, from filmmaker Doug Hawes-Davis (director of the similarly-themed take on prairie dogs, Varmints [VL-9/99]), is an obviously partisan, often gut-wrenchingly graphic indictment of both camps on humane and environmental grounds. Inter-cutting between ranchers, hunters, ADC staffers, and a gang of largely pro-coyote scientists, the video discusses the place of coyotes in plains ecology and their relationship to human and domesticated animal neighbors. As presented in this discussion at least, the case of the ADC for systematic scientific control of the beast crumbles quickly in the face of evidence from other scientists interviewed regarding the biological and ecological futility of these programs. At 83 minutes in length, the full-length version makes one wish a bit of editorial economy had been exercised in presenting these arguments (fortunately, 57-minute and 28-minute versions are also available). Still, while the decision to throw bounty hunters and ADC into the same villainous barrel seems a bit specious, Killing Coyote remains a generally effective piece of eco-propaganda, useful for public and academic library collections (although protracted close-up scenes of horrible animal carnage, at least in the full-length version, make this unsuitable for schools). Recommended. Aud: C, P. (G. Handman)
Killing Coyote
(2000) 83 min. (57 min. & 28 min. versions also available). $149. High Plains Films. PPR. Color cover. ISBN: 0-9677181-6-3. Vol. 16, Issue 1
Killing Coyote
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