A letter-writing campaign against the upcoming coyote hunt has made its way to the Independent, and an online petition spurred by the annual event has garnered quite a national following. But the man behind the hunt says the people who make up that following are misinformed and shouldn’t be so quick to judge.

The Independent recently received a number of letters from people decrying the upcoming coyote hunt around Marshall. A couple of the letters questioned the civility of area residents, with one calling the hunt a “circus”-like event. The word “blood-thirsty” was used in another.

The event in question is known as the “Save the Birds” coyote hunting tournament, which takes place Feb. 19-20 in Lyon County. Cash prizes will be given out, with the grand prize reaching $500. There are prizes for the largest and smallest coyotes, and every paid participant is automatically entered to win a Thompson Center Venture Predator 22-250 Snow Camo rifle.

All well and good, right? Not so fast, many say.

Aside from the letters the paper received calling out the way the hunt has been advertised, social media has lit up. A Feb. 5 post from a White Bear Lake man advertising a petition to “prohibit wildlife killing contests in Minnesota” set off a string of comments from around the country – mostly against the event. The post had more than 167,000 supporters as of Wednesday afternoon.

The organizer of the hunt, Ty Brouwer, who is president of the Buffalo Ridge Gobblers (the local chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation), said the event had no opposition in its first year in 2015. However, an ad posted in Outdoor News this year grabbed the attention of the man from White Bear Lake, and opposition only grew from there.

“I think people from all over America caught wind of that petition,” Brouwer said. “Some of these people, they don’t like hunting in general. I’ve had people say, ‘Well, why don’t you just shoot off their legs and see how long they survive? That’s not what we’re about.”

Brouwer said he’s not upset that the ad ran to a wider audience because he appreciates the exposure his club receives, but he takes offense to anyone posting negative remarks when they don’t really know what’s going on. He defends the event and said the information on the online petition is disingenuous. The way the hunt is portrayed by an outsider, he said, is all the fuel this fire needed.

“I read all the information, and it’s all so misconstrued,” he said. “They’re saying we have body parts laying all over, bloody carcasses; that we’re taking semi-automatic guns and shooting to kill. It’s not true. Everybody who was part of this tournament last year, they’re all sportsmen. They’re taking the most ethical shot, so the animal doesn’t suffer.”

Della Dempsey, a Wasilla, Alaska, transplant from Colorado, was one of the people who sent a letter to the Independent. Dempsey admits killing coyotes is a necessary evil but doesn’t appreciate the way the event is being presented.

In her letter, Dempsey said she was “horrified that anyone would, not only find this activity acceptable but also find it FUN.” She quoted Mahatma Gandhi: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

She said she’s not anti-hunting.

“I’m an animal advocate,” Dempsey said. “I’m not against hunting. I understand the cycle of life. I was raised in Colorado, and we ate deer every winter, but when you turn it into a party and put that kind of spin on it, that’s just wrong.”

And Dempsey said animal kills such as the coyote hunt throw things “in our system” out of balance. “I think wiping out large swatches of them like this is not good for our planet; it’s a balance thing. I think animals are getting kind of a bad deal – they don’t have guns and bullets.”

Some samples of other letters the Independent received:

“I am sickened at the barbaric coyote killing ‘contest’ set to happen in your state. I am ashamed at the bloodlust of my fellow citizens and the culture of guns and killing, unfortunately not reserved for animal killing alone. I was not surprised to find that most ‘Trophy hunters’ are Americans, determined to wipe out the magnificent wildlife on the African continent.

“Pretty soon Obama will have a full time job announcing, ‘Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims.’ And the carnage goes on against wildlife and against each other.”

“This event is not being conducted in a responsible way to help control animal population humanely nor is it teaching young, new hunters the way of hunting ethically. This is depicting a sport in a blood-thirsty manner. Letting young children shoot everything (any size coyote) and then parading it around on the streets to be measured and weighed. Children, especially being brought up in an area with strong ties to hunting, need to learn the lessons of hunting ethically, for use of meat and not sport to just kill. It is sad and disgusting to see and not a proud moment for Marshall, or any residents of this great state. I am a former resident for many years and heard about this and hope local papers will cover this story properly and shed some light on it.”

Brouwer, who hopes for 50 to 60 two-man teams this year (there were 36 last year) reiterated that the hunt is reputable and for everyone who likes to hunt.

“We’re doing everything that the state and government says we have to do,” he said. “People have misconstrued things so much that it makes us look like the bad guys. We’re the ones spending money on licenses and stamps – money that goes back into the land that helps wildlife. They’re making it sound like this is the Wild West and that we don’t care. It’s completely opposite of that.”

The event is sponsored by the Marshall Convention & Visitors Bureau, Prairie Highlands Quality Deer Management Association, Lyon County Pheasants Forever and the Buffalo Ridge Gobblers. All Minnesota DNR rules and regulations apply. Two-man teams are $60 per team. Rules meeting/shotgun start is at 7 p.m. Feb. 19. The start and finish line is at Brau Brothers, 910 E. Main St. For more information, contact Brouwer at 507-430-6473 or at buffaloridgenwft@gmail.com or Facebook buffaloridgenwft.

Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes said he has received more than 80 emails from people against the event and hasn’t bothered to keep track of the number of phone calls. He said contrary to what many might think, there is nothing the city could in do in terms of stopping the hunt even if it wanted to, since the city is not an event sponsor. He’s also bothered by the vitriol of some of the messages.

“Maybe they don’t understand conservation or don’t have an appreciation for hunting – that’s their choice – but many of the messages have included very disparaging things about the community, about Minnesota, about rural communities,” Byrnes said. “And about me – which doesn’t bother me. One person called me a ‘knuckle-dragger.'”

Byrnes is respectful of everyone’s opinions, but said he hasn’t responded to any of the emails, nor does he intend to.

Nomadic by nature, coyotes are Minnesota’s most abundant large predator, according to the DNR. Adults can weight up to 30 pounds. They are normally trapped and killed for their fur. They are found throughout the state, and the DNR says their presence is increasing in southern Minnesota.