Coyotes my arse....all the Yotes have been cleaned out like the Deer....the River Valley used to be full of them.
Residents surrounding Edmonton’s river valley are urging the city to clamp down on feeding wildlife as coyote interactions increase.
If approved by council, fines up to $500 could be doled out for feeding coyotes, other wildlife on public property, as well as wildlife on private
property that leads to a public safety risk or nuisance condition in the neighbourhood. A fine could also be levied for not properly managing wildlife
attractants on private property, such as compost bins or fallen fruit, that lead to a public safety risk.
City officials told council’s community and public services committee Friday the proposed bylaw amendments are meant to address extreme situations
and not meant to dissuade the practice of bird feeding. These new restrictions and associated fines would better allow enforcement officers to respond
to calls for service and deal with nuisance conditions associated with wildlife and human behaviour.
The City of Edmonton currently doesn’t have any bylaws explicitly pertaining to feeding of wildlife, which isn’t in line with many other
municipalities with diverse wildlife. In Calgary, causing distress or harm to any wildlife in a park — including feeding — is subject to a minimum
$200 fine.
Resident Allan Packard said wildlife feeding is a significant and growing issue in Edmonton and it’s time for the city to follow suit.
“Every day this is a problem in our community, every day our children are at risk and every day those poor animals are not having the lives that
they deserve, so we think that this is very urgent,” he told councillors Friday. “Glaringly, the City of Edmonton lacks this kind of bylaw and if
you look at the jurisdictional scan, no one else does. So we’re behind and need to get ahead.”
City data highlights about 4,000 inquiries and complaints a year about wildlife, with the majority related to coyotes. There has been an increase in
calls to the city regarding coyote interactions and concerns of coyotes becoming habituated in urban environments.
Ward 5 Coun. Sarah Hamilton, representing southwest communities along the river valley, said wildlife feeding has been an issue affecting area
residents for several years and she hopes the bylaw changes and associated fines would deter the practice.
“I think it helps send the clear message that we need to protect animals, we need to protect our wildlife and feeding them is not helping them. It
actually harms them,” she said. “There’s certainly a lot of mechanisms the city has to help residents learn how to keep coyotes at bay that’s
not destructive to the animals, but the feeding piece is a big piece of it. You have to make it unappetizing for the coyotes to come around.”
City staff will bring forward potential wildlife feeding restrictions if the recommendation is approved by council next week.
Meanwhile, about 100 people signed up to address councillors Friday on the city’s proposed mandatory mask bylaw extension until May 31, 2021.
Edmonton’s mask mandate for indoor, public spaces came into effect Aug. 1 and is currently set to end at the end of the year. The discussion is set
to continue next week before a council vote.
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There are concerns all right.
edit on 14-11-2020 by one4all because: (no reason given)