Coyote-trapping meeting held in private
Burlington mayor says it’s councillor’s call
The days of a few coyotes may be numbered after a city councillor organized a private meeting between a group of residents and a man calling himself “Trapper John.”
In a Jan. 19 email directed to select residents, Ward 4 Coun. Jack Dennison drew attention to a meeting that took place at Holy Cross Lutheran Church Jan. 30.
“Thank you to many of you who have written me and shared your encounters, experiences and concerns about coyotes,” Dennison said in the email.
“As you are aware, citizens have the right to band together and hire a trapper to have an aggressive coyote (s) removed.
“Since the summer, I have been in contact with a trapper in the hopes of securing a date/time to have ‘Trapper John’ visit our city and more specifically, meet and speak with us.”
The email goes on discuss how Dennison has been involved with the coyote issue since March 2014.
In 2015, Burlington council approved a Coyote Response Strategy, which was developed by the city and the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry staff with a goal of coexisting with urban coyotes using education, behaviour modification and the development of a tiered response to aggressive coyotes.
Dennison said the Jan. 30 meeting was something specific that residents asked for and which he promised. He said the meeting went well with at least 40 people in attendance.
The meeting was closed to the general public and the email invitation stated “Trapper John” would not participate if there were members of the media present. Those who attended were also asked not to take photographs or shoot video.
Dennison noted that if any coyote trapping did take place in Burlington, it would only be on private property and no taxpayer money would be involved.
He said if the process moved forward, the trapper would make use of soft leg traps to catch the coyotes, however, he was unclear as to exactly what would happen to the coyote after that. In Ontario, it is illegal to relocate a coyote.
“Trapper John” was not immediately available for comment.
“The ministry says that private property owners are allowed to hire a licensed trapper if they wish if they think there is a problem coyote frequenting their property,” Dennison said.
While Dennison used his city email, which featured city letterhead, to send out invitations, he emphasized the Jan. 30 event was not a city meeting and said no taxpayer money was spent to hold it.
“This is a meeting specifically of people who have had issues, lost dogs, lost puppies and who have been concerned about the safety of their family — people who have had significant issues with coyotes over the last three years,” Dennison said.
“There is nothing wrong with me as a city councillor arranging a private meeting with my constituents.”
Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring said there were no city staff in attendance at Dennison’s meeting and noted the city does not endorse the trapping of coyotes or the contractor present at the meeting.
Goldring also noted that while the city’s Coyote Response Strategy preaches coexistence, for the most part, there are circumstances where a different approach is permitted.
“We do have a protocol that states that if coyotes become very aggressive and there is more than one sighting of a coyote being aggressive in the same area, we can take lethal action,” the mayor said.
When asked about the closeddoor nature of the meeting, Goldring noted there was nothing stopping Dennison from doing that.
“It is up to each councillor to decide who they want to meet with, and certainly it is up to each councillor to decide the form of meetings they have with residents,” he said. “That’s his call.”