Residents in Durham Bridge say they’re concerned about the increased number of coyotes they’re seeing in the area recently, and many fear for the safety of their pets.
Bev and Shirley King who live in the community 20 kilometres north of Fredericton, said they saw a pack of six coyotes on their property last week. The Kings said they’re worried about the safety of their two dogs Molly and Abbey.
“Well, it’s quite concerning when there’s packs around. Six or seven. I did see six there, and that makes me a little nervous ’cause of our dogs,” said Bev.
He said he killed one of the coyotes with a shotgun.
“It yelped and then it went down into the woods, yelped again and that’s the last I heard of it until I went down two days later and it was dead,” said Bev. “They haven’t been around for a week or so, but they’ll be back.”
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Shirley said they won’t let the dogs out unsupervised and said they often put harnesses on them so they won’t wander off into the woods around their house.
“You get surrounded by a pack of hungry coyotes, it’s not very good,” she said.
Bev knows that wildlife comes with the territory of living in the area, but he and his wife agree the coyotes are getting closer to homes than they ever have before.
“They’re very prolific and they’re so bold now, this is the thing they’re just really not afraid of people anymore,” Shirley said.
She said she’s seen the coyotes eat apples that have fallen off their apple tree.
“They’re so adaptable. They’ll eat whatever they can find anywhere, and I guess cats are one of their favourite things, but there’s none around now,” Shirley said. “They’re cleaning out the little wildlife and peoples’ pets.”
Another Durham Bridge resident, Ron Canney, said he’s heard his neighbours talking about more coyotes in the area.
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“I’m concerned about them because I had a cat go missing and I’ve had chickens go missing. I raise chickens here and my neighbours up the road have had problems with deer being killed in their yard and so on, so yeah, I’m concerned,” Canney said.
Canney said he’s also keeping a close eye on his dog Harley.
“I make sure that I know where he is and if he’s out, I’m out with him, yeah I know, just common sense things. He doesn’t take off anyway but I keep my eye on him,” he said.
In an email statement from the New Brunswick Department of Environment and Natural Resources, spokesperson Anne Bull said while coyotes don’t usually pose a safety risk to people, they have adjusted well to living close to humans.
“They are generally shy and would prefer to avoid confrontations with people,” Bull said. “Coyotes find their way to residential areas, where they may come into conflict with pets, disturb garbage and cause concern for residents.”
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Bull said coyotes are scavengers and eat whatever is available to them.
She said prevention is the best way to keeps other animals and pets safe and said there are things residents can do to reduce the risk such as not feeding coyotes, keep garbage containers sealed and locked, feeding pets inside and keeping them indoors, and closing off spaces under porches, decks and sheds.
Coyote populations in New Brunswick fluctuate, according to Bull, with an estimated range of 10,000 to 15,000 animals in the province, with the numbers depending on food supply, disease and social structure.
Bull said calls and sightings of coyotes are not tracked and said New Brunswick exports approximately 1,500-2,500 coyote pelts annually.
When it comes to killing coyotes on private property, she said the Fish and Wildlife Act allows the owner or occupant of private land to destroy nuisance animals on their property if the animal is causing damage or is posing a threat to the personal safety of the owner or occupants.
“Coyotes causing problems on private land may be killed without a hunting licence,” Bull said.
She said landowners unable to deal with nuisance coyotes may contract a licensed nuisance wildlife control operator (NWCO), who is authorized to capture and destroy problem coyotes.
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