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LETTER: Coyotes valuable part of food chain

Letter writer disturbed to find out baiting wild animals is permitted
2021-03-19 Letter to the editor
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CollingwoodToday welcomes letters to the editor. They can be sent to [email protected] or submitted via the website. Please include your full name, address, and phone number for verification of authorship. The following letter was submitted in response to a previously published article entitled: No charges from MNRF after dog shot in Nottawa

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My heart goes out to the couple mourning the loss of their dog. I too have a dog who patrols our property and by her very presence keeps the coyotes in their own habitat.

Coyotes are a valuable part of the food chain. They eat their weight in mice and other small rodents that are proliferative and can become quite a problem if their populations are left unchecked.

Besides the loss of a beloved pet, I am disturbed by a couple of the facts related to this incident.

The fact that baiting wild animals is allowed; luring them from their territory into residential areas seems wrong.

Allowing people to shoot on property not their own, (particularly when unclear about what they're shooting) also seems wrong.

Obviously, there are times when the culling of coyotes and other wild animals is appropriate but the lack of bylaws ensuring fair and safe practices around culling need to be in place. The way things are presently, it seems like the wild west!

Christina Zettler
Collingwood, Ont.