Hello! Thought I'd clear up some stuff about where I source my coyotes. The animals I use are never killed just so I can use them. I live in Kansas where coyotes are killed in the thousands every year because farmers don't want them killing their calves. I try to make arrangements with farmers to pick them up off their "gut pile", where they just dump them to rot. Sometimes they'll hang them on the fence line too to "scare off other coyotes."
The coyotes I use would be killed whether I used them or not, I just pick up the pelts because I don't think something so beautiful should rot. The mounts I make are truly lovef by their owners and are more than just trophies, they're treasures.
If I can take something that is left to rot and make it into something someone will love and keep and hold for years, I feel like that is a great way to respect the animal it came from.
I just picked up two off a "gut pile" this morning.