Collingwood - Going to the Coyotes

It has been reported that parts of Collingwood, Ontario have a coyote problem, or rather pet owners in Collingwood have a problem with coyotes. Coyotes, a mid-sized canine, readily adapts to urban or semi-urban environments. Of all of the predators, they may be the least afraid of humans, having been habituated for at least the last few decades to living in close proximity to humans. They apparently will eat anything smaller than themselves including rodents, cats and small dogs. Humans are seldom attacked and I could not find any examples of an adult being killed. Conceivably a small child could be at risk if they were left for an extended time - unsupervised.

There are some residents of Collingwood that want someone to do something about the coyotes that are present. Not because they are dangerous to people going about their business but because there is a risk to people's pets that are running loose. Some people have advocated for a trapping program that will capture and then release the animals somewhere else, while another group has suggested that they will sue the city for not doing enough to protect their property.

Trapping and then releasing the animals somewhere else is a great suggestion except that it assumes that there is somewhere else that wants extra coyotes and the animals will not find their way back. The plan also forgets that nature abhors a vacuum and other coyotes will just move into the empty spaces. In other words - it will do no good at all.

Suing the city is an interesting concept - make the city fight an expensive lawsuit (with tax payer's money) to protect a relatively small number of animals whose owners who generally, have paid far too much for the animal and who want their animals to be able to run free. I can appreciate the fact that people can become very attached to their pets. I respect the fact that some if not most of those owners lavish attention and good care upon their animals. I can understand that part of the joy of owning a pet is that one can let them run around free - unencumbered leases or ropes etc. But I have to question if the rest of us should to contribute to an urban dwellers desire to have some sort of exotic and useless pet.

A pug in Collingwood was killed by a coyote a few weeks ago. Depending on where the animal was bought, it could have cost somewhere near $1,000. A $1000.00 for an animal that has never in its perhaps 2,000-year history served any purpose except to be cuddled by humans. That seems excessive to me. It is not up to me to decide if that is a good use of that individual's income - I know it is not a good use of my money to support their desires. If someone wants a pet, it is up to them to figure out how to look after it.

If people are concerned about the safety of their animals - clean up your garbage, bird feeders and fruit trees, build a fence around your back yard, don't let your cats run around outside and think about getting a bigger dog.