SAN ANGELO, TX (KWES) - It's a contest that attracts hundreds.
"Very good group of women and men and they're all hunting for a good reason," said Jeremy Harrison, organizer, West Texas Big Bobcat Contest.
The West Texas Big Bobcat Contest is calling all the best to hunt bobcats, foxes and coyotes. Yes it's for prize money, but the contest also does so much, especially for farmers and ranchers.
"The price of food would be insane if nobody controlled predators, nobody could raise any critters. You wouldn't be able to raise any lamb crop or kid crop," said Harrison.
Across the state.
"Predator depredation goes a long way too, right down to the people in Pecos, for instance, that are growing cantaloupes or watermelon. Coyotes love watermelon and they love cantaloupes and they will eat them up," said Harrison.
The hunted animals also help researchers learn more so they can fight against diseases like rabies or research papers.
"In the past, we had a girl who was doing a thesis on coyotes. She came and picked up all the coyotes and she was doing a thesis on their age and life quality and all kinds of stuff," said Harrison.
The contest started in 2008 with 28 teams. Last month, there were 692 teams with almost $150,000 in prize money given out. All for the sport, all to have fun, whether you are in a team of friends or family.
"My son is 13 and his son is 15 but they're going to go with us. It's an all night deal, we don't know how long they'll last but I bet you they ride us like rented mules. I bet they push us further than we will ourselves," said Harrison.
At the end of the day, it is a contest, a contest that attracts the best hunters, a contest with prizes and a contest that does so much more.
If you want to learn more about the competition, you can visit their website http://www.wtbbc.org/
