Coyote traps set in the Dunstaffnage-Marshfield area

Coyote traps have been set in the Dunstaffnage-Marshfield area after an incident last monthwhere a teenager, Sam Johnston, was approached by apack of the animals while riding her pony.

Johnston and her pony managed to runaway unharmed after the coyotes walked towards her in a V-formation,not far from herDunstaffnagehome.

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The incident scared the family enough that they contactedthe province's fish andwildlife division to request a trapping permit. Shelley Fraser, Johnston's mother, said she wanted the boldest coyotes dealt with.

The provinceconfirmed on Tuesday that a permit to trap coyotes in the area of the incident has been issued and that the traps are killing traps.The permit length is two weeks.

Fraser said traps have been setand allneighbours have been notified andtold to keep their dogs at home.

She added that the traps are in the woods, and not in a place where someone might accidentally come upon one.

'It has to be done'

Wendy Anderson, a Dunstaffnageresident,has seen coyotes near her property many times. Last February, she saw four of them cross the field behind her home. It was both impressive and concerning to see a whole pack, she said.

She feels the traps are necessary.

"It has to be done. If they've become that much of a nuisance that they're actually threatening people and threatening us and our animals, then it needs to be done They've gone after a girl on a pony. That's a threat."

The coyotes have her worried about her two dogs and her cat, so she keeps a close eye on them when they're outside.

Now that the traps have been set, she makes sure that the dogs are on leashes when she takes them out for walks.

She saidthat coyotes are a part of P.E.I. and that people need to respect that they're here. The traps are not meant to be vindictive, she explained.

"You need to feel safe, and right now, I don't feel safe walking out through the fields anymore."

CBC spoke to some residents who aren'tpleased with the traps. They said they're concerned about their own dogs getting caught in the traps and whether it's humane to trap the coyotes.

Outside the regular season

Garry Gregory, a wildlife biologist for the province, wrotein an email to CBC that the trapping is handled by an experienced trapper.

"When Fish and Wildlife determines that trapping coyotes outside of the regular season is recommended to remove specific individuals and/or to influence the behavior of a group of coyotes, a nuisance permit is issued to an experienced trapper," he wrote.

He added thatthe designated trapper works "closely with the property owner and Fish and Wildlife to develop a course of action that will address the issue."

The department could not confirm the number of traps that have been set, sayingthe number of traps is not determined by the permit, butis at the discretion of the trapper.

"The trapper provides regular updates to Fish and Wildlife, and upon expiration of the permit the situation is re-assessed to determine if further action is required," the statement from Gregory read.

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