Re: Coyote encounter leaves dog injured, Aug. 2, Burnaby NOW.
There was an earlier article written in the Burnaby NOW on Friday, May 24, 2013 about aggressive coyotes by C.G. Brown Memorial Pool. I cannot understand the City of Burnaby. Our neighbourhood has been complaining about the aggressive coyotes for two years.
I sent an email directly to Mayor Derek Corrigan and received a reply from a person in the Burnaby parks board outlining what they intended to do. A partial job was done, and that was it. My complaints were because of aggressive coyotes (a den
of six) living in the bush area beside Ãcole Sperling Elementary. The den is directly behind one of the houses on Hycrest Drive, and the family that rents the house has a small boy that they can't allow to play in his back yard. The coyotes do not even move when you yell or throw things at them. They were coming out onto the school playgrounds during the day. That made no difference as the city cut a small strip of the overgrown blackberry canes off of Adair Street and about a 20-by-100-foot strip cleared at the northeast end of the school field. They worked at the opposite side of the bush area. The city claims that they own the three lots' worth of property and the Burnaby school board owns the rest of it. But it's funny that they have a Burnaby parks sign at the southeast end of the bush.
When I phoned the wildlife and conservation office, all I got was an answering machine. It took them one month to return my call to say there was nothing that they could do about it until a human has been attacked. I had informed them of the situation as well as informing them that when I have my dog on her leash in the front yard after dark she is being stalked by the coyotes.
I told the wildlife conservation officer that I was going to purchase a pellet gun and the next coyote that came in my yard when I had the dog outside would be shot at. I was told that I can't do that. I would rather see a proactive solution of clearing the bush undergrowth and removing the coyote den than a reactive solution after a child has been attacked during recess or lunch at the school.
Where are the City of Burnaby's priorities? You get told "tough" when there is a problem in a residential area but warned because there is a problem by a pool and an ice rink. That is like giving weather reports at the airport. Who the hell lives at the airport?
Douglas Morissette,
Burnaby
