Editor:
To comment on Lynda Beggs' letter to the editor June 18, I live just off Norwest Bay Road and over the last few years have also seen a dramatic increase in the coyote population.
Last year it affected my family personally when our dog had his throat ripped apart by a coyote while standing just outside my bedroom window at 8:30 a.m. The coyote was the size of a German shepherd, with a healthy, shiny coat - obviously well fed on neighbourhood pets. Thirty stitches later, remarkably, my dog survived; my bank account, not so much.
I'm tired of our pets being held hostage. I have no problem with pets being on a leash when out walking, and we as pet owners cleaning up after them, but it seems so ridiculous that the coyotes are given total free rein to wreak havoc on our pets. The coyote population is going to continue to grow and the situation will become increasingly dangerous because coyote predators are few and our municipal governments turn a blind eye.
Yes, coyotes are wild animals and we are taking over their habitat, but what happens when a bear becomes a nuisance in an urban area? It is dealt with. There is no easy solution to the coyote problem, but it needs to be addressed. What will it take for the "powers that be" to come up with an action plan? Hopefully not a scenario like the one Lynda referred to in her letter about the Newfoundland woman who was attacked and brutally killed by a coyote. Do we have to wait for a human to be attacked on the Sunshine Coast before something is done?
Kate von Riesen
Sechelt
