City exploring all options to address coyote attacks downtown, public meeting told
Residents of Liberty Village, Fort York say permanent solution needed to prevent attacks on pet dogs
City officials are exploring every option to reduce a spate of coyote attacks on pet dogs in two downtown neighbourhoods, a public meeting was told Thursday night.
"We are listening. We are committed and open to hearing your concerns and ideas," Esther Attard, director of Toronto Animal Services, said at the virtual meeting.
Attard said the city will increase its patrols in the communities of Fort York and Liberty Village. The patrols are from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. during times of high incidents and sightings.
The patrols are happening in Liberty Village, Garrison Commons and Ordnance Triangle Park. She said the number of incidences is decreasing in these parks now.
Officials are also fixing holes in fencing along a railway corridor to prevent the coyotes from using these areas as pathways, she said.
Attard has said the city is working to maintain safety while allowing wildlife to co-exist peacefully with people in the communities.
"If animal behaviour changes in a way that affects public safety, we will take a range of further actions after assessing all options available," she said.
The city has had bylaw officers monitoring coyote activity in the area since November and is offering public guidance on how to keep safe and prevent coyote encounters, according to animal services. That includes, keeping dogs on-leash, making noise and being assertive in the event of an encounter.
Attard added that removing coyotes is difficult because the animals are hard to capture and it can takes weeks and months to remove them from an area.
Coun. Ausma Malik, who represents Spadina—Fort York, said safety of residents, children and pets is a priority, and she has spoken to many people in the community about the problem.
"I share your horror and your heartbreak at this situation," Malik said.
"What we are seeing here is not new in terms of coyotes' presence, but the behaviour, the severity and the escalation is unprecedented."
Malik said the city wants to make sure that the increasing patrols are effective. She said she is committed to meeting with neighbours weekly, working with expert organizations and bringing a safety plan motion to a Feb. 26 committee meeting.
"Most of all, I know we know that we need a resolution to these coyote attacks, with specific steps for all options to be explored, from relocation to removal. And that needs to happen without delay. And that is the high priority work that I have been pushing to city staff," she said.
Earlier, Malik said she has asked staff "to look at every option available to us to resolve the issue," including relocation and euthanasia.
Coyotes have always existed in the city, Malik says, but their prevalence in downtown areas with little vegetation is new.
"We've seen an escalation," she said.
In addition to keeping dogs on leash, officials urged residents to use "aversion conditioning" when approached by a coyote. Coyote Watch Canada says that method involves standing tall, making yourself big, waving your arms, opening and closing an umbrella or using a noisemaker, and shouting while moving toward the coyote until the animal runs away.
Over 50 attacks since November, group says
A group of people from the communities of Fort York and Liberty Village in downtown Toronto, calling themselves the Coyote Safety Coalition, say they've recorded over 40 attacks since November.
They say the city has helped address the issue with bylaw patrols, but it's not enough.
"We urgently call for a comprehensive and sustainable action plan to address this issue permanently," the coalition said in a Feb. 11 letter signed by Ruby Kooner, a Liberty Village resident who says her dog died after a coyote attack in November.
"Residents remain deeply concerned as fear continues to rise, particularly at night," the letter says.
City staff told CBC Toronto that they received 64 service requests related to coyotes in the area in January, including three bites and two attacks on dogs.
Members of the Coyote Safety Coalition say that coyotes are remaining aggressive, even when people follow the city's guidelines.
6 coyote attacks reported Monday alone, residents say
The community coalition says Monday evening alone, six pet dogs in the area were attacked by coyotes. Ann Selvanayagam's five-year-old terrier-mix, Gregorio, was one of them.
The Liberty Village woman says she was wearing a hands-free leash when she took Gregorio just outside her building at night so he could have a quick pee. She says a coyote came out of nowhere while she was distracted by a noise and tried to carry Gregorio away in its teeth.
"I'm screaming and I'm kicking at the coyote to let go," she said, but the coyote held on. She said the coyote stayed aggressive even as four other dog owners came to her aid. It finally relented when a large man arrived and scared it away.
Gregorio received stitches for the attack, and Selvanayagam says she got a $1,300 vet bill. She says it's shaken both of them.
"He typically gets really excited for walks and now when I ask him, he just gets really scared," she said.
"The city actually needs to do something because their guidelines aren't doing anything," she said. "Everyone is scared to go outside."
Another Liberty Village resident, Monica Healy, says her dog was also attacked Monday night, the second time since Christmas. She says she had her dog leashed both times.
"I think they're gaslighting us a little, the city, saying it's not really a problem, but it is," she said. She now carries a whistle and coyote repellent and wants to see coyotes removed from the neighbourhood.
"They can't stay here," she said. "It's out of hand."
Politicians blame Ontario Place redevelopment for escalation
Malik and local MPP Chris Glover both say the redevelopment of nearby Ontario Place has removed green space from the coyote's former habitat, pushing them into the city.
"It was this wildlife refuge just offshore in downtown Toronto, and they clear-cut it," Glover said. "Then immediately afterwards, the escalation of the coyote attacks started."
He says the provincial government should take responsibility for the problem since it's leading the redevelopment project.
An environmental assessment for the Ontario Place redevelopment did not report any coyote habitat in the area, but Glover says that didn't look at the entirety of the redevelopment area. A Metrolinx assessment for the Ontario Line's planned Exhibition Station found evidence of coyotes in the area.
Mike Fenn, a spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources, said in a statement Thursday that multiple assessments and studies of the Ontario Place redevelopment showed no evidence of coyotes on the site.
The ministry is aware of the coyote situation in the community, Fenn said, and is working with the city to provide advice. The ministry does not provide removal services for problem wildlife, he said, and the municipality is responsible "for taking appropriate actions under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act."
With files from Naama Weingarten