It’s Killing Contest Season in Wisconsin

And We Need Your Help to End It

Right now, across Wisconsin, wildlife killing contests are happening. Coyotes. Foxes. Raccoons. Crows. Rabbits. Snowshoe hares. All killed for prizes, trophies, and entertainment. 173 known contests. This is the season. And we’re organizing to stop it.

Moondog Madness, Marshall, Wisconsin. The largest coyote killing contest in the state. I took this photo. This is what Wisconsin calls “wildlife management.”

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Look at This Photograph

This mountain of dead coyotes is Moondog Madness—the largest coyote killing contest in Wisconsin. Participants competed for prizes: biggest coyote, smallest coyote, most coyotes killed. Children posed with the bodies. Bars handed out cash awards. And the Wisconsin DNR? Silent.

All of this slaughter—for just an $18 hunting license.

That’s right. For $18, anyone in Wisconsin can kill unlimited numbers of coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and other so-called “unprotected” species. No bag limits. No accountability. No oversight. Just $18 and a license to kill as many animals as you want—and then compete for prizes doing it.

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What Are Wildlife Killing Contests?

Wildlife killing contests are events where participants compete to kill the greatest number, the largest, the smallest, or the most females of a targeted species—for prizes, trophies, cash awards, and entertainment.

In Wisconsin, these contests target:

• Coyotes
• Foxes (red and gray)
• Bobcats
• Raccoons
• Snowshoe hares
• Rabbits (cottontail)
• Crows
• Squirrels
• And in some cases—wolves

These contests have no oversight from Wisconsin DNR. They often take place on public land. There are no bag limits. And there is no wildlife management purpose. According to National Geographic and leading wildlife scientists, indiscriminate killing may actually increase predator populations by disrupting pack structures and breeding behaviors.

As the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department stated: these contest events “could possibly jeopardize the future of hunting and affect access to private lands for all hunters.”

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173 Known Wildlife Killing Contests in Wisconsin

We’ve been documenting wildlife killing contests across Wisconsin for years. Our database now includes 173 known events across the state—and that number is still growing.

These contests are organized by:

• Bars and taverns
• Hound hunting clubs
• Coyote hunting clubs
• Sportsmen’s clubs
• Lions Clubs and civic organizations
• Gun clubs
• Informal Facebook hunting groups

Confirmed contests include:

• Moondog Madness – Marshall (Dane County) – the largest coyote killing contest in Wisconsin
• Merrimac Lions Club Predator Hunt – Merrimac (Sauk County)
• Argonne Predator Hunt – Forest County (we shut this one down after national outcry)
• Marshall Lions Club contests
• Ringle Sportsmen’s Club Predator Hunt – Marathon County
• Tigerton Predator Hunt – Shawano County
• Wittenberg Coyote Hunt – Shawano/Marathon County
• Predator derbies in over 40 counties
• Crow shoots in nearly every county
• Rabbit drives across rural Wisconsin
• Squirrel derbies marketed to children
• Hound hunting contests targeting raccoons, foxes, and bobcats

Most contests are bar-sponsored or club-sponsored. Many claim to raise money for charity. But make no mistake: the primary purpose is killing for fun, prizes, and bragging rights.

Another Wisconsin killing contest. The bodies pile up. The prizes are handed out. And nothing changes—unless we act.

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This Culture Kills Wolves Too

The same mentality behind wildlife killing contests drives wolf poaching in Wisconsin. The same $18 license. The same lack of accountability. The same culture that treats wildlife as targets for entertainment.

Since wolves lost federal Endangered Species Act protections, wolves have been illegally killed across our state. Shot. Trapped. Poisoned. Run over intentionally. Killed in “contests” where they’re mistaken for coyotes—or killed on purpose and claimed as mistakes.

The Wisconsin DNR has done almost nothing to stop it.

And it’s about to get catastrophically worse.

Right now, the U.S. Senate is back in session and considering HR 845—federal legislation that would strip Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves without any judicial review. The bill already passed the House in December 2024.

If HR 845 becomes law:

• Wolves lose ESA protections nationwide
• States like Wisconsin regain management authority immediately
• Wisconsin is the ONLY state in the nation that will go directly to a wolf hunt upon delisting—no review, no process, just slaughter
• No judicial review means no legal recourse to stop it
• Wolf killing contests could become legal

Remember February 2021.
Remember the 218 wolves killed in just 60 hours.
That’s what’s coming again if HR 845 passes.

Meanwhile, we’ve filed a petition with the State of Wisconsin to relist gray wolves under Wisconsin’s Endangered Species Act—just like our neighbors in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan have done. Those states have state-level protections that prevent an immediate hunt upon federal delisting.

Wisconsin should too.

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Ten States Have Already Banned Killing Contests

Wisconsin doesn’t have to accept this barbarity. Ten states have already banned or severely restricted wildlife killing contests:

1. Arizona
2. California
3. Colorado
4. Maryland
5. Massachusetts
6. New Mexico
7. New York
8. Vermont
9. Washington
10. Oregon

In 2023, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, and Virginia introduced legislation to ban killing contests. Illinois came close—but the ban stalled in the state Senate. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources even supported the ban.

The momentum is building nationwide. And we’re bringing that fight to Wisconsin.

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What We’ve Already Accomplished

Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance (formerly Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf & Wildlife) has been fighting Wisconsin’s corrupt pay-to-play wildlife system for over a decade. Here’s what we’ve done:

🏆 Shut Down the Argonne Killing Contest

When the Argonne Predator Hunt in Forest County threatened to kill endangered wolves, I personally led the campaign that shut it down. The story went national—generating massive media attention and public outcry. The contest never happened again.

🏆 Passed the First County Resolution Against Killing Contests in Wisconsin

I successfully got Dane County to pass a resolution condemning wildlife killing contests—the first of its kind in Wisconsin. It set a model for other counties and municipalities across the state to follow.

🏆 Introduced State Legislation to Ban Killing Contests

We worked with state legislators to introduce a bill that would have banned wildlife killing contests statewide in Wisconsin. It didn’t pass—but we’re not done. We’re building the coalition, gathering the evidence, and organizing the public pressure to introduce it again. And we will keep fighting until we win.

🏆 Major Legal and Legislative Victories for Wolves

Over the years, we’ve:

• Filed multiple lawsuits challenging Wisconsin’s wolf management plan
• Compiled 23 sworn affidavits documenting the catastrophic February 2021 wolf hunt
• Exposed corruption networks linking Hunter Nation, Americans for Prosperity, and dark money to Wisconsin wolf policy
• Generated national and international media coverage of Wisconsin’s wolf crisis
• Built the most comprehensive database of wildlife killing contests in the state—173 events and counting
• Filed a state petition to relist wolves under Wisconsin’s Endangered Species Act

And unlike the big environmental groups that can’t take controversial positions because of foundation restrictions and political constraints, we do the work that needs to be done—no matter who it pisses off.

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This Fight Takes Money

Every legal filing. Every investigation. Every piece of legislation we help draft. Every resolution we help pass. Every media campaign. Every community organizing session. Every contest we expose and shut down.

It all takes resources.

We’re building the statewide campaign to ban wildlife killing contests in Wisconsin. We’re fighting HR 845 in the Senate. We’re pushing our state petition to relist wolves. We’re exposing DNR corruption. We’re organizing communities across the state. We’re preparing to flood legislative offices with calls, letters, and testimony.

And right now—in the middle of killing contest season, with the Senate back in session and HR 845 moving forward—we need your support more than ever.