Letters To The Editor Run Amok

Torontonian Coyote's Breakfast

 

I read a news story in the Toronto Star today about a coyote attack on a chihuahua in the east end of town. Apparently, the unfortunate little fugger was out in the back yard for a morning whiz when a coyote jumped the fence, and made breakfast out of her. Gruesome to say the least. It’s certainly not what I would expect to see in suburban Hogtown.

I’ve seen coyotes here before, but usually in industrial areas and well away from residential parts. I guess the coyote population is booming these days, and people with small dogs and cats should beware of the growing threat. The coyote is not your friendly neighbourhood pooch. Not even close.

What really irked me about this story, besides the animal control department’s response was the comments left on the Star’s website after the article. The animal control officers said they couldn’t capture the animal without orders from their supervisor. If the owner had paid for his dog license, then I’d say it’s fair to suggest the coyote be trapped and dealt with. The comments to the article are even worse.

One reader had the audacity to suggest that the owner didn’t have a “real dog” anyway, and it was no big loss. This cold hearted bastard ought have his nuts removed and fed to a coyote before he reproduces, but perhaps I’m overreacting.

Other comments say we should embrace the natural world and respect the coyote’s natural instincts. Both are wrong in my opinion. Coyotes are a growing problem throughout the province. I don’t imagine that sheep and cattle farmers are too thrilled with a booming population of predators killing their livestock. I certainly know that pet owners don’t want to live with a seige mentality and keep their animals indoors at all times. The city is not the place for wild animals to be roaming about guzzling our furry companions.

Has anyone noticed that there aren’t any groundhogs around these days? It’s tough to spot them nowadays compared to even a decade ago.

Coyotes certainly aren’t endangered, so I would have no problems with some kind of bounty on them. Bounties were common in years gone by, and they were very effective when dealing with nuisance animals. Of course we don’t want trigger happy hunters running around, but we’ve got to strike a balance. I don’t think anyone would want to see a coyote attacking and killing a small child or another household pet. Reducing the coyote population isn’t such a bad thing when you think about the possibilities.

I guess the next thing we have to worry about are the idiocy of reader comments to news websites. We can’t put a bounty on these people, but it sure would be nice to see people think before they post their asinine comments.