It is with heavy hearts that we write this today following the announcement of an imminent Stanley Park-wide coyote cull by the provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. SPES will continue to advocate for addressing the coyote problem at its source following the removal of the habituated coyotes. For ecological reasons, coyotes cannot be translocated nor rehabilitated.
In the wake of the cull, coyotes will re-populate the Park over time. SPES, the Vancouver Park Board, Conservation Officer Service, and coyote experts are making solid strides to prevent future coyote populations from succumbing to habituation. To that end, the feeding of wildlife must be limited via wildlife proof garbage bins (a pilot project is underway), improved and increased educational signage regarding wildlife feeding, and increased enforcement against feeding and illegal activities.
SPES staff and volunteers will continue to support UBC research via wildlife cameras and encourage a tagging program to record coyote behaviours and identify individual coyotes. This information will help us track the coyote population in the Park to better understand the Park coyotes’ behaviours and population dynamics. As educators and monitors, SPES will continue to collect data through sightings, reports, and media and compile that information into a central database that supports communication with the public and among parties involved.
We ask the public to report coyote encounters and observations of wildlife feeding:
• Aggressive coyote encounters – COS Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) line: 1-877-952-7277
• Non-aggressive coyote sightings – Co-Existing with Coyotes online report form
• Wildlife feeding in Stanley Park – Report using our online form
Thank you for your patience and support as we to work to deter animal habituation in Stanley Park for the safe co-existence of wildlife and people.
Sincerely,
Tricia Collingham
Executive Director