By Pepper Parr
September 12th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
People being bitten by coyotes.
This is not a problem that is going to go away.
There are a lot of unknowns and something has to be put in place to get a solid grip on this problem.
The City of Burlington has activated its Crisis Management Team due to six unprovoked coyote attacks on residents.
The latest was reported to the City from a retirement home employee regarding one of their residents.
They howl at an early age.
Today, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward spoke to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), Graydon Smith, who expressed sincere concern for the health and safety of our residents and is working with us to help address this serious risk to our community from these unprecedented and unprovoked attacks.
One victim was a two-and-a-half-year-old boy who was on his backyard deck. The coyote grabbed him by the neck in an attempt to drag him away. City staff are in active discussions with coyote wildlife management experts at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) to collaborate on solutions for the Burlington community.
City of Burlington staff will present a report to council on coyote management recommendations at the Corporate Services, Strategy, Risk and Accountability Committee Meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 9:30 a.m. for approval at the City of Burlington Special Council Meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at noon.
The most recent unprovoked coyote attack occurred this morning at 8:20 a.m. at a retirement home on New Street in the Roseland area. The victim was sitting out on their front patio in a chair. She was relaxing and awoke to the pain of the coyote biting her in the hip area. The coyote was startled when she woke up but tried to approach her again. She was able to scare it away. The retirement home employee saw what happened and ran out to check on the resident. The coyote ran across New Street into a neighbourhood. An ambulance was called for the victim and she was taken to hospital.
The coyote is described as a smaller sandy coloured coyote.
Please be vigilant in these areas and report coyote sightings using the form at burlington.ca/coyotes.
If you are attacked by a coyote, please seek immediate medical attention and report the attack to the Halton Region Health Department and to the City of Burlington Animal Services at animalservices@burlington.ca or 905-335-3030.
These attacks are uncharacteristic of coyotes and this cluster of attacks on humans are the first reported in Burlington.
City of Burlington Animal Services staff are patrolling the area to locate this coyote and its den.
They are also working with a Certified Wildlife Control Professional to eliminate the coyote.
While staff have been monitoring the area since the last attack on Aug. 24, they have found several neglected properties in the area that could be offering ideal denning areas for this pack of aggressive coyotes.
Bylaw Officers are being dispatched and prioritizing by bringing these properties to meet bylaw requirements and to remove the opportunity for coyotes to den on these sites.
Questions we will put to the city administration:
Fire Chief Karen Roche will get at the root of the problem and put forward recommendations that make sense – if she is given the mandate she will need,
What mandate does the Crisis management team have?
Who chairs that team?
Who are the members of that team?
There will be some comfort if we learn that Fire Chief Karen Roche is in constant an and instant communication with the city manager.
And lastly, has the city been sued by any of the families of the victims?
There is only one solution. No crisis meeting necessary. Cull them. There were no coyotes until 6 or so years ago. People need to inundate the mayor and council.
Said it before and I’ll say it again … time to eradicate coyotes living in an urban setting. Either kill them or move them far out of the way. They are attacking people, babies, children and seniors and pets. They have no natural predators. They have no fear of humans. Our fault, idiots are feeding them. I feel sorry for coyotes but when you can’t put granny in a wheelchair in front of their home on a busy street without fear of them being eaten … well … it’s time.