Coyotes killed in Bedford
March 8, 2012 - 6:38am By LAURA WARREN
People living near Paper Mill Lake can breathe a little easier knowing that three coyotes have been removed from their Bedford neighbourhood.
After multiple complaints from schools and people in the area, the Natural Re*sources Department sent trappers to the area recently to control the situation.
A path off of Lake Road that surrounds the lake was closed because coyote traps were placed throughout the area.
“There were two coyotes that were shot just back here and we weren’t able to go in there for over two weeks," Moira Cot*tam, who lives near the trail, said Wednes*day. “They (trappers) came and we couldn’t walk through. They had signs at both ends and it was well advertised."
Cottam said she hasn’t seen any coyotes around but knows of people who did.
Mike Boudreau, a natural resources wildlife biologist, said the coyotes were caught over a period of a few weeks. He said they were shot on site with a small*calibre rifle after they were trapped.
The traps are painless to ensure no harm to pets and it is nearly impossible for an animal to escape without a trap*per’s aid, he said.
“Any time you have wildlife that ends up being habituated to people, either through feeding or just in association, there’s a risk of having an aggressive encounter," Boudreau said.
“What we’re trying to do is educate people that when they do recognize that they have them around their properties that they do certain things."
Among those things is not leaving food outside, he said. In addition, people should not to go near them if they do see them and if they do see them, they should call the department.
(lwarren@herald.ca)
<http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/71248-coyotes-killed-bedford>
