After some livestock around here were killed, they staked out the area. It turned out to be several large dogs that were bored. Once a dog gets the adrenaline rush of killing, they will hunt for it. They kill it, leave it where it dies, then the scavengers finish it off. That includes coyotes, buzzards, hawks, coons, possums, etc.... I am sure there are instances of coyotes that have killed livestock, but my method would to be find out for sure. I live a mile from the neighbor to the left and one lives almost half a mile to the right. No neighbors in front or back of me. The neighbor to the right has a pug and a yard dog. They have a buried electric fence to keep them both in. Many times I am on the front porch, I see something going across the field that appears to be deer. I get my binoculars out, and it will be large dogs. I have no idea where they come from or who they belong to. A Rottweiler mix, German Shepard mix and a dog that appears to be a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. Sometimes two large black dogs. If one of these dogs begins to chase a calf, you can bet the others will join in. I remember when I was a kid, a neighbor had two dogs that came and killed a large number of our chickens. It was their second visit. My dad shot both dogs with a shotgun and called the neighbor to tell him what had happened. The neighbor said that no way it could have been his dogs since they don't leave the yard and they were there at his house now. My dad told him that he thought one might make it back to his house but he wasn't sure about the other. Nothing else was ever said between the us and the people, but both dogs lived, and we never saw them at our house again. He penned them up. I hate any animal that kills livestock. If it is coyotes, then they need to be killed. If I could, I would beat one to death with a baseball bat if I caught him doing it, and feel no remorse as I saw blood splattering and it's brains hanging out. Neighbor's loveable pet dog, he needs to go too. At that point, my adrenaline would be pumping and I would beat him to death too. But I will make sure that I get the right one. If a coyote is killed thinking it is the culprit, it might be the reason that people think two replaced the one. The dogs are still out there and they get addicted to killing once they start it. I have a Jack Russell terrier that had rather kill rats as to eat. She will wound them if there are many and then go back and finish killing them if they are still alive. But she always leaves them laying. Say the word rat, and she starts to hyperventilate. They pass other people's house's and their dogs go along. It is nature. They will always return to kill eventually. They are not hungry and they will leave it where it is. They may chew a bit, but there is a big difference of when a coyote and a dog kill the livestock. An animal that is hungry, it will be eaten and dragged off if it is small enough. I have had a goat or two to die. I buried it in a shallow grave, but low enough that it would stay covered. This goat weighed in the area of 100 lbs. Coyotes (I think) will dig it up, pull it out and then I see no sign of it except where it has been dragging it to a an area that they think is safe to eat it. I never go look to see where they took it. I don't want to see it, but since the animal was dead already, then I don't get upset about the pet goat. I did bury it close to a path that I see the coyotes frequent, and have a path down into a deep ditch with cover of plum trees, honey suckle etc... That is the only evidence I have that it might be the coyotes. I am not upset with that they are scavengers and that is one of their purposes in life. What does upset me is when a small pet is poisoned and no one can find where the poison comes from. I hear of people taking hotdogs and lacing them with poison where they think coyotes frequent. I am far from being an animals rights activist, I do eat meat, and will continue to do so. But I will make sure what I kill is responsible for the death of my livestock.
