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HOLLAND
COLLEGE • April 29, 2003
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FEATURES
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Coyotes:
Friend or foe? PHOTO:
Peter Baker feeds the sheep in front of his barn. His sheep wander
about without any fear of coyotes or other predators.By Melissa Duskey Surveyor Staff The howls and barks of the coyotes are heard often at night in the woods around Breadalbane. And that's just fine with Peter Baker, a local sheep farmer. Unlike some, who regard coyotes as a dangerous pest which should be shot and trapped, Baker says he never sees them in his fields and he suspects they do a service, helping him get rid of the bodies of dead sheep. He keeps his 15-20 sheep close to the barns in a half-acre pasture without the use of electric fencing or watch dogs. "The coyotes don't feel safe coming out of the woods," said Baker. "I don't welcome them, but they do clean up (dead livestock)." "When I do a head count, which isn't often, sometimes I have more (due to new young), sometimes less. I don't have evidence it's coyotes, but it's a good guess." he said. In fact, coyotes help Baker dispose of his dead sheep. He dumps them in the woods behind his farm, about an average potato field away. "Any sheep that I've put in the woods were gone in a day or two," he said. (Sheep can get Mad Cow Disease. Dead stock removers and butchers refuse to remove dead sheep because of this. There are no regulations against farmers disposing of dead sheep in woods unless it causes damage to the environment such as contaminating streams and rivers. Government officials don't recommend the practice and will provide assistance in composting dead sheep for farmers, says Jane Palmer, a regulatory technician with the Department of Agriculture and Forestry.) Baker suspects hunting coyotes is a waste of time. "The hunters are just killing off the dumber coyotes and improving the stock, by leaving the smart ones," said Baker. "Coyotes are very intelligent animals, like foxes and dogs." Sarah Field agrees. She is a masters student at UPEI. She has been conducting research on coyotes for the past three years. As she describes her work she sits in her office at the back of a biology lab, her desk covered with papers from field research which now needs to come together for her report. She's focused on preparing the report by June. The report will include a new coyote management program. Out of 30 coyotes carcasses found, 15 had livestock in their stomachs, but this doesn't mean that 50 per cent of a coyote's diet consists of living livestock, Field said. "Most of the carcasses rose from the trapping season and usually a common tactic in trapping is to bait the coyotes into the area. The bait is usually domestic dead livestock from local farmers." Coyotes generally prey on sheep, calves or birthing cows and sick animals, which are small or slow moving. They also eat vegetation and small wildlife like mice and rabbits. Coyotes has populated every area on P.E.I. since the 1970s and they're here to stay but they're not a threat to people or large pets, she said. " I think as more research is being done and more information is being passed down to the public it's actually clearing up some issues." Putting a bounty on coyotes or shooting a large number of them, won't help reduce the population because coyotes will increase their litter sizes to make up the difference, she said. Coyote hunting seasons have been expanded for the past two years on P.E.I. due mostly to fur prices, said Art Smith, director of conservation and management division of the fisheries and wildlife department. "It's not only for coyote control, it's also for hunting opportunity," he said. "We'll manage coyote populations concerning livestock." Smith was involved in developing a coyote management report in November, 2001. The report made 12 recommendations. It recommended against a bounty and made suggestions on dead stock disposal. It also called for funding for firearms courses for livestock owners who use guns. Providing more education to farmers about feeding coyotes, farming practices and predator control plans was also recommended. "We have the ability to provide trappers in certain cases," said Smith. "There was only a couple of cases last year." The nuisance animal hot line is 1-866-368-4683. } |
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