This article has been edited from a previous version.
Council has approved a coyote management plan that would only call for trapping and killing coyotes in situations where an attack on a human occurs or in some cases where there are repeated attacks on pets in a short time in the same vicinity.
Councillor Kevin Lloyd was the lone councillor who voted against the plan. Deputy Mayor Brian Saunderson was not at the meeting.
“It’s my personal opinion when you have a pack or a pair mating in an urban area and they are training their pups to hunt in an urban area, it only follows that those pups become less afraid of people and less afraid of pets,” said Lloyd. “It’s my opinion that this pack in the Georgian Manor area is becoming a problem. I cannot support this staff report unless it also includes an immediate solution to that particular threat in that area.”
Staff have created a management/communication plan that lists possible coyote interactions and sighting situations and pairs those with recommended actions.
For example, if a coyote injures or kills a pet off-leash in an open space area, staff recommend the following:
- gathering information on the circumstances;
- educating area residents on responsible pet ownership and hazing;
- look for and eliminate any attractants in the area where the incident occurred;
- post coyote signs in open area to alert other residents
- if it is pup season and there is a known den nearby, consider blocking off the path or area until pup season is over
- develop a hazing team in the area
- levy fines (for leash violations) where appropriate
In the case of a coyote on human attack or multiple, confirmed reports of coyotes attacking pets on leashes with humans nearby and in the same vicinity over a short period of time, staff suggest it could be necessary to locate and eliminate the problem coyote. In a case of a human attack, the coyote would be tested for rabies and given a full necropsy.
To read more about the management plan, click here for an earlier story by Collingwood Today.
