Coyote situation getting ugly
Published on October 17th, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - Coyotes are shredding house cats and looting vegetable gardens in Stoneham, but residents can’t do much to stop them, legally.
“Our cat was killed, and my wife was approached in her garden by a growling coyote,” said Harry Paicopolos of 21 Crystal Drive. He has a twelve gauge solution in mind, but the laws of Massachusetts and Stoneham put limits on human predators.
A 1996 state ballot vote banned all leg traps; most coyotes are too shrewd to enter box traps. A Stoneham bylaw prohibits firing a gun in town, nullifying the Nov. 1 to Feb. 28 hunting season. There are no legal toxins on the market. And some of the other suggested defenses, like electrical fencing and guard donkeys, are expensive or asinine.
“We’d prefer a liberal harvest, but in some towns we don’t have any tools in our toolbox,” said Chrissie Henner, Mass Wildlife furbearer biologist.
In places where a human has been injured or a coyote has been acting “bold,” Mass Wildlife will come and kill the animal, Henner said. But this is not an option in Stoneham.
Henner said education is the best defense left to Stoneham residents. She will host a seminar tentatively scheduled for the afternoon of Nov. 14 at the Police Station. Health Inspector Lou-Ann Clement requested the meeting after receiving calls from concerned citizens. The Health Inspector and Animal Inspector, Ken Stache, have been unfairly criticized for not acting; they have no authority to capture or kill coyotes.
“There’s a leash law in this town for dogs, but these coyotes can run around wherever they want,” Paicopolos said.
Mass Wildlife recommends keeping pet food and pets inside, sealing and securing garbage and removing any bird feeders and vegetable gardens from yards.
“Even if we killed one coyote, another would replace it,” Henner said. “People have to change their behavior and clean up food resources that attract the animals.”
But some residents are not ready to surrender to the will of these 40 pound punks.
“I’m a taxpayer. I’m not changing my lifestyle. That’s not right,” Paicopolos said.
Dr. Karl von Klock of 19 Crystal Drive is gathering signatures for a petition. He wants Mass Wildlife to do something about the coyote “crisis.”
“There will be hell to pay if any of our neighborhood children are attacked,” von Klock writes. Chuck DeCoste of 18 Crystal Drive has young children as do many neighbors. The neighbors argue that first the small woodland creatures disappeared, then the cats, leaving human children as the next logical step.
No one has been injured, but the Crystal Drive neighbors are tense. Nine coyotes have been identified in Stoneham. As time passes without government action, humans may become bolder, and by February, the coyote moms will have four to eight small pups of their own.
Town officials may want to grant Mass Wildlife experts an exemption from the fire arms bylaw before someone gets scratched, bitten or shot.
And maybe state legislators should revisit trapping restrictions.
What does a coyote look like
In Massachusetts coyotes are about the size of a medium-sized German shepherd dog but with longer, thicker fur. They have a long, bushy, black-tipped tail that is usually carried pointed down. Their snout is long and slender, and their ears are pointed and erect. The pelts range from the more common grayish-black to the less common blonds, light tan, dark tan or even all black. Females way an average of 33-40 pounds, and males average 34-47 pounds, although coyotes can get as big as 60 pounds. They are 48-60 inches long including the tail.
Coyotes remain active all year and can move around during the day or night depending on what suits them. They usually travel in pairs or small groups over a four to 30 square mile territory.
Call Mass Wildlife at 508-792-7270 for more information.
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