Coyotes seem to be the whipping boy of suburbanites these days.
Greenwood Village, a suburb of Denver, has hired a contractor to monitor its coyotes and shoot them if 'necessary.'Nicole Rosmarino, wildlife program director of
WildEarth Guardians doesn't approve of this approach, and neither do I. The trapper/shooter/tracker in question, Jay Stewart seems to be annoyed that people are trying to chase the coyotes away, meanwhile past efforts made by the city to control the coyote population have included trapping....which means that someone had to BAIT the coyotes into the traps. Baited traps can only lead to more opportunistic coyotes in the area. Placing signs around coyote denning sites to keep people away is a good way to keep the people from getting hurt, but it's basically enabling the coyotes. By giving them their space, the village is actually encouraging them to take root and move on in.
"Scientists tell us the best way to address problems with coyotes is to enforce leash laws and wildlife feeding ordinances and reinstill a wariness of humans in them," Rosmarino said.So basically, don't blame the coyotes for your problem. Blame yourselves. Click Here to read WildEarth Guardians take on the 'problem.'
