MD of Bonnyville residents may soon have a cash incentive to kill coyotes.
MD council agreed at its April 8 meeting to look at a coyote control program in greater detail later this spring, with that program expected to offer cash for each coyote culled from the local population.
Predation by carnivores was one of the concerns brought up by residents during a series of town hall meetings in the MD that stretched from late January to early April.
“We've had reports that the coyote numbers are extremely high,” said Matt Janz, the MD's director of agriculture services.
That fact, combined with area deer populations reportedly being down, may lead more coyotes to look for a meal on farms and around acreages, Janz said.
“With less food out there probably available for the wolves and the coyotes, maybe they are going to go after other food sources (such as) cattle, sheep or goats,” he said.
Acknowledging that likelihood, the MD is moving toward a program that encourages landowners to cull coyotes for cash.
It would likely be introduced in time for the trapping season, which begins Oct. 15 and runs through the end of February.
MD Council heard that while the province doesn't have a formal coyote reduction program, the Fish & Wildlife branch of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development doesn't have a problem with such pest control programs.
Council heard three rural municipalities, the counties of Warner and Newell, and the MD of Taber, operate programs to encourage the harvesting of coyotes with bounties of either $10 or $15 per animal.
In the County of Newell, which surrounds Brooks, the program costs around $15,000 to $20,000 annually in bounty cash.
The MD of Taber actually promotes coyote derbies two to three times a year, Janz told council.
Coyote bounties have been used locally in the past, with the MD operating a three-year program from 2002 to 2004. It paid $10 per animal, to residents only, and was abused only by a couple of participants, who each culled over 50 animals through the program, Janz said.
He told council a coyote culling program is, to an extent, a “feel good” program, but it's one that has the potential to drive problem “urbanized” coyotes away residences and farms, and back into the bush.
Coyotes are considered by Alberta Agriculture to be responsible for 75 per cent of livestock predation in Alberta. They're viewed as agricultural pests, and as such, can be dealt with accordingly.
“They are considered a pest, and the they can be shot at any time of the year,” Janz explained in an interview.
Aside from the right to shoot coyotes that are threatening livestock, producers can also enlist the MD's assistance with poison control methods and snares.
“If there's predation, we can issue a control method, either poison of neck snares. We can do it, but we have to have confirmation of predation to do that,” Janz said.
He noted that remedy isn't available to acreage residents who have lost pets to coyote predation.
As for wildlife predators, residents are reminded they don't have the same rights as they do when dealing with coyotes – even with recent concerns about predators such as cougars in the Beaverdam area.
“It's illegal to kill a cougar. You have to report that to Fish & Wildlife. People still figure that if it is out amongst their cattle that they can kill them,” Janz said.
“I encourage them to phone Fish & Wildlife on any cougar sighting because Fish & Wildlife need to know about them so if it becomes more of a problem, then they can deal with it.”
Concerns about an increase in predation of cattle were raised earlier this year by Fort Kent area producer Bernie Chartrand, who told the Nouvelle he's lost cattle to predation three times in the past year.
At that time SRD spokesman Darcy Whiteside told the Nouvelle predator populations have increased over the last few years.
Whiteside said hunting is an important wildlife management tool for both predator and prey populations and that controlling the deer population will help control predator populations.
Predation by coyotes can be reported to the MD by calling the MD office at 780-826-3951. Predation by other wildlife such as bears, wolves and cougars can be reported to Fish & Wildlife offices in Bonnyville or Cold Lake.
