Senator Donald Oliver

The Advance

January 12, 2010

By Senator Donald H. Oliver, Q.C.

Earlier this summer, a singer-songwriter from Ontario died after two coyotes attacked her while hiking in Cape Breton’s Highlands National Park.  This was the third record of someone being attacked by a coyote in Nova Scotia since 1995.

Coyotes are considered by wildlife experts to be intelligent and wily animals, but are equally notorious as viciously dangerous predators.  According to Hinterland’s Who’s Who, coyotes will consume a wide-range of foods including domestic sheep, beef calves and domestic poultry.

In fact, CBC News recently reported that two Nova Scotian sheep farmers in Hilden lost 46 sheep to coyotes in 2009.  This is a common problem that many sheep farmers deal with on a regular basis.  Dr. Brent Patterson, a Trent University Professor and research scientist, said the government of Ontario paid out more than $2 million in 2 years in compensation to farmers who have had farm animals killed by predators, usually coyotes.

Perhaps it’s time provincial and municipal governments in Nova Scotia consider implementing a coyote control program that would include a $100 bounty on coyotes to reduce the number of attacks on livestock.  A similar program was adopted on November 10th by the Government of Saskatchewan.  The Saskatchewan Coyote Control Program is a pilot project designed to help livestock producers manage coyotes who prey on their livestock.

Dr. Ralph Maughan, a wildlife expert, says coyotes have become the most abundant large predatory animal on the continent.  Over the years, coyotes have even been spotted in some cities in Nova Scotia.  They are, indeed, a cause for concern for many Nova Scotians who fear them.  According to the Nova Scotian Government, coyote populations appear stable but will likely increase as their main prey base, deer and rabbits, also become more numerous.

Before this occurs, I think our province should follow in the footsteps of Saskatchewan and adopt a coyote control program that would help cattle farmers and other throughout Nova Scotia.