Coyote ugly

TRURO - Nova Scotia should completely "exterminate" its coyote population, some Colchester County councillors believe.
"Bounties don't work," Coun. Mike Cooper said, during this week's council session. "You might as well get rid of them. They're hunting in packs now."
Cooper initiated discussion on the issue following the death earlier this week of an Ontario teenager killed by coyotes while walking alone on a trail in Cape Breton.
"That is not going to be an isolated situation," he said. "They're becoming more and more brazen."
Cooper said constituents have expressed their concerns and personal experiences to him and he believes something must be done to protect humans against a growing coyote population.
"Coyotes are a problem. I do have to concur," Coun. Tom Taggart said.
Elderly residents in the Bass River area have been disturbed by coyotes scratching on their windows, he said, and farmers have also expressed concerns.
"They are becoming a danger," Taggart said. "So I think we need to deal with them."
Coun. Karen MacKenzie described the Cape Breton death as an isolated incident and said she would not support any call for a bounty on coyotes.
"So, if a bear attacks somebody next week, do we have a right to go out and kill all the bears?" she asked. "We have to share the Earth with others and that includes animals."
For Hilden farmer Maggie Perry, however, the issue is not quite that simple.
So far this year, Perry and her husband have lost 45 sheep to coyotes and after trapping 13 in the past two months, "they are still howling out there," she said.
"I've had three confrontations with coyotes," Perry added, including one where she escaped by jumping over a snare that the coyote ended up getting caught in.
"So he was following me ..."
Another incident occurred when she went to investigate a sheep that appeared to be in trouble. When she approached the animal, she found two coyotes chewing on the sheep's backs.
"They didn't move until I drove the truck up to them, Perry said. "They aren't coyotes that are here, they are half wolf. And they aren't one bit afraid of you."
Based on her experiences with coyotes, Perry does not believe the Cape Breton experience will be an isolated one and she cautioned anyone against walking alone in the woods. If you do, she said, carry a stick to make it appear like you have a gun.
"There should be a bounty on them, I definitely think so," she said. "They're a vicious animal, they're a wild animal and if they are hungry, they will attack you."
County council has directed staff to write to the province requesting it look into finding a way diplomatic way of dealing with the coyote
population.

hsullivan@trurodaily.com