Coyote sightings in Montreal have made headlines on several occasions over the last few months, and the Montreal SPCA is essentially saying — well, get used to them.
The animal welfare group issued a statement earlier this week, saying coyotes "have a tremendously positive impact on an area’s biodiversity and ecological integrity."
It also suggests killing them, or attempting to relocate them is inhumane. The group says attempts to control or get rid of the animals "disrupts the coyotes’ natural social order in the area and can actually create additional problems for citizens."
In other words, the group favors co-existing with coyotes in an urban environment, and has provided a list of tips on what to do if you come in contact with one.
One of the benefits of having coyotes around, for instance, is that they feed on rats, mice and other pests.
In August, the city hired a coyote trapper to deal with the rising number of calls about coyotes. In September, a woman walking her chihuahua in a park in St. Michel claimed that her dog was mauled to death by a coyote.
While the SPCA says we should learn to co-exist, a man who makes his living as an urban animal trapper told the Journal de Montréal on Tuesday.
Sylvain Lévesque, with the firm SOS Dundee, told the paper he's afraid of what might happen if a 5-year-old child running in a park, for instance, came face-to-face with a coyote. He also brought up a case in 2009 where a jogger in Nova Scotia was killed by a coyote.
Lévesque suggests the coyote phenomenon will continue to grow in the city.