Province to consider contest to cull coyotes
Posted Mar 4, 2011 06:54:23 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Ontario is considering holding a “contest” to get rid of coyotes in some areas where they are aggressive.
A Progressive Conservative M-P-P wants a province-wide coyote cull, but Natural Resources Minister Linda Jeffrey says mass hunts don’t control the population.
Jeffrey says she’s open to suggestions to help get rid of the animals, including holding some sort of contest.
Brent Patterson, a ministry research scientist based at Trent University, estimates there’s been a threefold increase in coyote numbers in many areas since 2004.
He adds that it’s very unlikely contests would successfully curb the animals in the long-term.
Patterson says there are enough areas where coyotes can’t be hunted to allow them to recolonize areas where they can be hunted within a year.
