I'm with the leave them alone reply. I have been a hunter and fisher all my life, and believe that if you are not going to eat it don't shoot it. Unless of course if it's trying to get you, then it's about self preservation. And yes I am a landowner, and I have told everyone who hunts on my property (all family) that they will be kicked off the property permanently if I catch them killing just for the fun of killing.

Kill em all and let God sort em out!!!

It's not about killing for fun. Deer, elk and other critters that are valued for their meat, hide, horns or whatever are in need of some protection if we wish them to prosper on a continual basis. In real nature there is no "balance" and if you believe there is you are ignorant and dangerous to the hunting, fishing and trapping community. All predator and prey populations are cyclic and when the predators out gain the prey numbers drop to the point where there is a predator die off and a rise in cattle/farm fowl predation due to a lack of "natural" prey. Without predators prey populations will rise to the point of devastating food sources and die off with disease and starvation. So as the "intelligent" beings whom are charged with dominion over the animals of the earth it is ours to maintain a responsible balance if we wish for it to prosper.

I just prefer to be the one killing and eating the prey, not a yote, wolf or mountain lion.

You replied with a typical reply. Instantly calling names and trying to make yourself sound like the know it all. Trying to prove to yourself and others that you are righteous in everything you do. You don't know me so keep the name calling out of it and just enjoy a little grown-up discussion. Everyone has their opinions. Even you. If you can't have an "Intelligent" discussion without calling names, then who is ignorant? We are here to enjoy the sport and share in our victories and defeats. Lets enjoy it while we still can. Because no matter what our individual opinions are, we are all hunters for a reason. As long as those reasons are legal, and our actions are within the law then we are all free to hunt as we please. You kill everything that moves where you hunt, and I will take only what I need where I hunt. Like I said. I own the land. I can hunt how ever I please.

It was a joke fellas! Some of yall need to lighten up or you'll put yourself in an early grave! My redneck, jarhead reply was above but my best reply to the serious is this, "Our methods and weapons(and opinions)may vary but we all have the heartbeat of a hunter in common." Go easy my fellow hunters and huntresses so we may share a campfire together one day.

Congrats on being a landowner. Now try shooting a whitetail with a spotlight in March and tell the game warden that you own the land and see if it gets you out of a ticket.

Landowner or not, 95% of wildlife management plans out there have some form of predator control implemented into them. 100% of solid wildlife management plans have a predator control program implemented into them and that includes human in the equation as predators. You cant control all the felines and canines and then let 14 of your cousins best friends go kill happy.... unless you own the land ( just kidding sky
dual).

I'm not a proponent of eradicating entire species so that I can decide on what should live or die, but I am a proponent of sustaining both populations at a level that is healthy to the environment around them. As "stewards" of the land it is our responsibility to manage the wildlife and earth that is sustainable for all species. With that being said, the answer is not reintroducing an exotic species into an environment because we think it most closely matches the one we eradicated or because we have some grand idea it will make things better. I.e the Canadian grey wolf, wild hogs, fire ants, carp, peacock
bass, etc. We screw a lot of things up without making them more complicated. Just maintain what is there and enjoy. And know I am not going to eat one of the 3 coyotes I have killed this deer season. But when I see 8 in one morning, something needs to step in and thin the pack so new blood can be introduced from the landowner next door.

You are correct. Please notice the statement that said as long as it was Legal. And before someone jumps in on that one, Yes. I can say I have never taken an illegal deer.
No where in my original post did I state that I am against thinning the predator heard a bit when they start getting out of control. I just said that I don't condone killing them all for fun. And I am definitely against introducing a new species to help bring down another one. That's the governments answer to everything. 14 cousins? dang lol

I don't feel that predators should be regulated by the State at all. Right now you can shoot just about any varmint there is but bear. There don't seem to be any shortages of any of these animals and I would go as far as to say some species such as coyote, fox and bobcat are actually problematic in some area's.

Let the landowners determine predator levels. I raise sheep and goats, I shoot predators. My neighbor has 80 gas wells, no livestock and allows 0 hunting. There are plenty of everything over there. None are endangered.

Coyote population comes and goes with the rabbit population. If the buck/doe ratio is kept at an optimum level, coyote/bobcat kills are usually not a problem. Coyotes, cats and bear usually consume the entire kill before killing again and bear are more of a scavenger than killer. Wolves, however, kill for sport and therein lies the problem with wolf/elk populations and wolf/livestock problems. I dont believe we need wolves running through Texas and they should be kept confined to National Parks or wilderness areas. I know the wolf loses much of what used to be its home, but we need the land for farming and ranching. I say let the other predators be, other than problem animals or over-population issues.

My vote goes here.

When it comes to predators reintroducing them to areas that no longer have them seems nuts. It seems to me there is a reason there gone.