A downtown coyote action plan has been approved in response to continuing coyote attacks in the Liberty Village and Fort York area, which residents say have been dramatically escalating since at least November of last year.
The plan came before the Economic and Community Development meeting on Tuesday, put forward by Deputy Mayor and Spadina-Fort York Coun. Ausma Malik.
“The objective of the Downtown Coyote Action Plan is to enable staff to respond swiftly and intensively to coyote activity downtown,” reads the plan by City staff.
They go on to point out that “specific attributes of Toronto’s downtown communities are increasing the potential for conflict between humans, pets and coyotes,” such as:
- High density of humans and domestic dogs
- Lack of per-capita green space and sparse foliage
- Increase in construction and redevelopment projects (including Ontario Place)
- The presence of the rail corridor in the area (which generally enable coyotes to move about out of human sight)
- The availability of food (with some intentionally left for wildlife)
- A high number of encampments which are also associated with food being available and attracting coyotes
Many of the actions outlined in the plan have been carried out for several months, including regular patrols by City staff, conducting aversion tactics, increased response to off-leash dogs and improper waste disposal, increased education for residents and improved signage.
A specialized aversion team was also hired in March to conduct “consistent dedicated aversion conditioning and monitoring.” That team consists of Coyote Watch Canada and a licensed hunter-trapper that goes by Critter Gitter.
On Tuesday, Malik proposed several amendments to the plan, based on some of the learnings over the past few months as well as concerns from residents.
The amendments included improvements to 3-1-1 reporting by creating a new service request sub-type through which people can call in to specifically report feeding of coyotes. It was also suggested that the definition of a service request called “Coyote Posing Threat To Public Safety” be expanded to include such coyote behaviours as stalking, snarling and other aggressive behaviours.
In addition, it asked for the City’s Municipal Licensing and Standards division to “consider the feasibility of incorporating a reproductive control approach for coyotes in Ward 10, as an outcome of the loss of habitat,” in consultation with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, the Ministry of Natural Resources, or other municipalities.
All amendments were carried and the plan was adopted.
The Downtown Coyote Action Plan will be used to inform updates to the City’s 2013 Coyote Response Strategy, which will also be brought to the Economic and Community Development Committee later this year. An update to the 2013 plan was requested by City Council last year.
Community group says Downtown Coyote Action Plan is ‘disconnected from reality’
Ruby Kooner, the founder of the Liberty Village community group Coyote Safety Coalition (CSC) spoke at the committee meeting on Tuesday.
She pointed out that the various exacerbating factors identified by the City, like intentional or unintentional feeding of the coyotes, some off-leash dogs and waste disposal, have existed for years and coyotes and residents have nevertheless peacefully coexisted all this time.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge that it was the destruction of Ontario Place and loss of habitat that did exacerbate this issue,” she said.
She added that the data that CSC has collected along with 3-1-1 data shows the spike in coyote incidents correlates with the timing of when Ontario Place development began and they have continued to escalate since then.
Malik also mentioned that the development of Ontario Place without a proper environmental assessment has led to this “unprecedented” rise of coyote interactions.
Kooner says a pack of four coyotes moved into the area when work at Ontario Place began and the City has previously confirmed that they were assessing four coyotes in the area.
Kooner believes, based on her conversations with wildlife experts, that the felling of 800 trees at Ontario Place with wildlife still present in the area led to the loss of the pack’s alpha, which in turn led to the pack becoming more defensive and aggressive.
Kooner said the various aversion techniques and education to encourage coexistence undertaken by the City are not working and they need to come up with a better solution.
“We cannot coexist after everything this pack of coyotes has been through,” she said.
Kooner has maintained that she is not for culling the animals and has repeatedly suggested relocation, asking for the City to acquire an exemption to a provincial rule that prevents moving coyotes more than one kilometre.
She and other concerned residents were able to connect with a sanctuary in Texas that she said was willing to take the entire coyote pack. They intended to fund the relocation effort with a community crowdfunding campaign.
When asked if sanctuaries had been looked into, City staff said they had spoken to the facility in Texas and in contrast to Kooner’s conversation, were told it was not possible to relocate them there.
Following the meeting, Kooner told CityNews she was frustrated with the proceedings and continues to feel that no meaningful action is being taken.
“The City continues to take non-actions that are completely disconnected from the reality residents are facing,” she said.
“Our safety is clearly not being prioritized. Worse, instead of supporting the relocation efforts we’ve worked hard to coordinate, the City is actively undermining them.”
She once again pointed out that five dogs have been killed in coyote-related incidents and feels it’s only a matter of time before a child is harmed.
“We’ve already had a terrifying incident where a coyote tried to grab a two-year-old boy. What more needs to happen before real steps are taken?” she said.
Meanwhile, residents have come together in various ways to protect themselves, including nightly pack walks and a real-time alerts chat group to report daily sightings so residents can avoid areas where a coyote was recently seen. The Coyote Safety Coalition website also provides a map of incidents and a reporting function so that the community can keep track of incidents independent of the City.
In late April, CSC held a rally to demand action, which was attended by both Malik and MPP Chris Glover. At the time Malik provided an update saying one specific coyote that is suffering from mange has been identified as the culprit in numerous attacks and they are awaiting an assessment from Critter Gitter to decide on next steps for it. No further updates have been provided since then.
The Coyote Safety Coalition will hold a vigil and memorial on May 8 to honour the pets as well as trees and wildlife harmed by habitat destruction.
