A Scarborough councillor is seeking a new policy regarding coyotes in Toronto.
On Mach 19, Coun. Glenn De Baeremaker proposed a ban on killing, trapping or poisoning coyotes. This came a month after police shot and killed a coyote roaming in Cabbagetown.
In a letter to the Municipal Licensing and Standards Committee, De Baeremaker called for a staff report to update the city’s current regulations on coyotes. He stated the killing of coyotes within city limits does not work.
“Removing one coyote just makes more room for the next coyote,” De Baeremaker wrote in his letter. “Second, trapping, shooting and/or poisoning coyotes is actually more dangerous to the public than to the coyote. Finally, in additional to being ineffective, trapping is also prohibitively expensive.”
De Baeremaeker also said coyotes rarely pose a threat to the public, and that the last time a person was bitten was over a decade ago.
The update is expected to be reported by city staff in September, when a decision would be finalized.