City makes decision to address problem coyotes
Posted Feb 12, 2010 By Charelle Evelyn
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Tweet ThisEMC News Years of playing hot potato with responsibility for the coyote problem are finally coming to an end after announcements that the City of Ottawa and the provincial government are willing to work together.
"It's about time the Ministry acknowledged the concerns of landowners and taxpayers associated with coyotes," said Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod in a press release.
The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has committed to authorize the trapping of coyotes, as requested by the city.
This announcement comes just as the city's community and protective services committee carried a motion that directs city staff to work with the MNR to "develop and implement an integrated approach to addressing coyote issues" at its Feb. 4 meeting.
The motion, introduced by Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans, focuses on public education and awareness.
Coun. Deans said she placed the item on the agenda because of the increased number of coyote sightings in urban areas.
"I know it's been an ongoing issue in the rural areas for some time," she said. "Part of the fear factor is that we haven't really had a lot of interaction in the past."
During her presentation to the committee, Christine Hartig, project officer with bylaw services, stressed the importance of separating facts from myths about coyotes.
"People need to understand the difference between true threats and co-existence," explained Ms. Hartig.
Now that the city can obtain permission to remove problem animals, the city's recommended approach is that only specific, habituated coyotes that are posing a threat are trapped.
One of the reasons coyote sightings are so high right now is partially due to the advent of their breeding season, she said.
"They're not interested in homo sapiens," Ms. Hartig said. "They have other things on their minds."
The proposed strategy also hinges on creating an incident database, establishing a steering group to deal with human-wildlife conflict and reviewing the best practices for dealing with coyotes in other North American cities.
"It's important for residents to know that their families are safe," said Coun. Deans.
Many members of the public who addressed the committee expressed that they feel more threatened by hunters chasing down coyotes than by the actual animals.
Osgoode resident Jim Poushinsky recounted a tale of diving for cover on his own property from a hunter's bullets that were meant for a timber wolf.
He also said that in all of his years of farming, he had never lost any livestock to coyotes as he always shut them in his barn at night.
Heather Hamilton, a zoologist, echoed the sentiment regarding the safety of her dog. "It's my responsibility to be a responsible pet owner," she said.
To date, there have only been two documented cases of fatal coyote attacks in North America. In contrast, there are 30 fatalities every year from domestic dogs.
Osgoode ward Coun. Doug Thompson has been working on the topic of problem coyotes since 2007. Despite the issues he's been raising, he said there has never been the cooperation needed to take action on them until now.
That the animals are now being spotted in the urban areas and it has become a public safety issue, along with the increased media attention, have raised the level of concern and got the ball rolling, he said.
Aside from the bylaw services not being prepared to handle the issue, there was a lot of back and forth between the province and the city as to whose responsibility it was to handle the coyotes.
Along with authorizing trapping, Linda Jeffrey, minister of natural resources, has also committed to direct a Ministry official to map out and target where the coyotes are and provide technical advice.
Now that some action has been taken, "I want to make sure we don't stall along the line," Coun. Thompson said.
Ms. MacLeod will be hosting a public meeting with officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources at the Osgoode Arena Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.
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