Town of Parry Sound staff are encouraging residents to properly manage their garbage.
This comes in the wake of more and more residents reporting an increase in coyotes throughout town.
Coun. Doug McCann brought the issue up during a July 2 meeting, after hearing a recording of a pack of coyotes howling in the Queen Street area.
“It sounded like a zoo,” he said. “Is there something that we as a town can do to combat that. What should we be doing to take caution?”
According to Mike Kearns, the town’s director of public works, the municipality does not have any involvement in the management of wild animals.
“Unfortunately, there is not a lot we can do to help deter them. I would recommend, from a public works perspective, managing your garbage. The storage of and placing out of (your garbage),” he said. “We are certainly seeing a lot of birds causing issues this year, in particular. Removing any attractants is probably the best thing residents can do.”
The Ministry of Natural Resources also suggests residents limiting attractants in order to prevent and manage conflicts with coyotes. Some tips offered by the province include:
- keep pet food indoors
- use secure garbage containers with locking lids
- put garbage out the morning of a scheduled pick-up
- pick ripe fruit from trees and remove fallen fruit from the ground
- protect vegetable gardens with heavy-duty fences or place in a greenhouse
- clean up after your dog as coyotes are attracted to dog feces
For more information visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/preventing-and-managing-conflicts-coyotes
