Experts Say No Quick Fix for Toronto’s Growing Coyote Problem
Residents Demand Stronger Action, But City Focuses on Aversion Strategies
The City of Toronto is facing an unprecedented coyote issue in Liberty Village. In response to growing concerns from residents, Deputy Mayor and Spadina-Fort York Councillor Ausma Malik hosted a virtual town hall Thursday, February 13th, 2025, with representatives from Toronto Animal Services and the Toronto Wildlife Centre.
For over a month, Toronto Animal Services has received numerous complaints about coyote activity in Liberty Village. Some residents have formed the “Coyote Safety Coalition,” and according to the CBC, the group has documented over 50 coyote attacks since November, with six more occurring on Monday, February 10.
Most of these incidents coincide with the coyotes mating season, which occurs between January and February. During these months, increased sightings of coyotes are not uncommon. But the interactions occurring in Liberty Village are not the norm.
There are growing calls from residents demanding swift action, with many wanting the coyotes to be relocated, rather than killed. However, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) prevents wildlife from being relocated more than one kilometer from where they’re found.
Dennis Murray, Canada Research Chair in Integrated Wildlife Conservation at Trent University, told CBC News that the coyotes should be “humanely killed, not relocated.”
In response, City Staff and their consulting experts continued to emphasize the importance of aversion techniques and adherence to municipal bylaws.
While coyotes are native to North America, they are not a recent addition to Ontario’s ecosystems. They began moving into Ontario in the early 1900s due to agricultural clearing and the decline of wolves in the region, which allowed them to expand their range eastward from the Midwestern United States into Michigan, New York, and Ontario1.
Coyotes are typically wary of humans, but Coyote Watch Canada noted in a blog post that constant pressure from dogs in the area has triggered defensive responses from coyotes, even toward leashed dogs.
Dr. Esther Attard, Chief Veterinarian and Director of Toronto Animal Services, emphasized during the town hall that many of the recent coyote incidents involved leashed dogs, highlighting the consequences of ongoing off-leash violations and harassment of the coyotes. She and other experts stressed that stricter compliance with leash laws, aversion techniques, and public education are essential to reducing conflicts.
Coyote Watch Canada has warned that without proper enforcement of leash laws and widespread public awareness, this pattern of stress-triggered defensive behavior is likely to continue. The coyotes are responding to threats based on their natural instincts. Members of the public need to alter their behaviours in order for coexistence to work safely and effectively.
“To be absolutely clear that the number of attacks on dogs, the vast majority of them have been on leash dogs. With pet owners following the rules.”
-Dr. Esther Attard, Chief Veterinarian and Director, Toronto Animal Services
Coyote Watch Canada is a non-profit, community-based wildlife organization that advocates for positive human-wildlife coexistence and has been working with the City of Toronto on the Liberty Village coyote concerns.
Coyote Watch Canada’s Founding Executive Director, Leslie Sampson, was supposed to be in attendance Thursday, but was unable to attend due to a family emergency.
Through their field work, Coyote Watch Canada has revealed some of the factors believed to be contributing to the problem:
The significant loss of habitat around Ontario Place and other infrastructure changes has displaced resident coyote families and forced their dispersal.
Abandoned buildings beside the railway tracks (also a wildlife corridor) attract residents who trespass in this area to run their dogs off leash.
Three significant access holes in the fencing infrastructure allows for people, dogs and coyotes to travel into the railway track area and into the greenspaces
We’ve received countless reports of off-leash dogs chasing/harassing coyotes.
People in the community are feeding wildlife causing coyotes to be more tolerant of people and increasing their proximity to high activity areas.
Land use access has changed with population growth, temporary living shelters, off leash dogs and wildlife.
Victoria Badham, Program Manager, Education and Outreach at the Toronto Wildlife Centre, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife was in attendance at the town hall Thursday night.
Badham emphasized that the coyotes are experiencing “trigger stacking,” the buildup of stressors like habitat loss, and human encounters can make coyotes more reactive, increasing the risk of conflicts with pets.
“What we have seen in the past couple of months has already been outlined in terms of Ontario Place and the construction, as well as the off-leash dog issue and the dogs being chased, and what this does is cause trigger stacking.”
“When these coyotes are being chased repeatedly, experiencing being chased or attacked. That creates a sense of trauma. So they are going to start taking a proactive response to these situations, and I think thats a lot of what we’re seeing in this area now.”
-Victoria Badham, Program Manager, Education and Outreach at the Toronto Wildlife Centre.
Residents were advised by city staff and the experts in attendance to utilize aversion conditioning techniques. But many residents have claimed that the techniques aren’t working.
Aversion conditioning actions specifically intended to make coyotes feel uncomfortable around humans, to reinforce their natural instincts to fear us.
During the Town Hall, Badham also addressed this.
“I know you have been given a lot of information about aversion conditioning, and I know that there are sometimes some hesitancies as to how well that might be working, but I really can say that from our past experiences dealing with many communities experiencing similar. Problems. If it is applied correctly, it can be very, very effective.”
-Victoria Badham, Program Manager, Education and Outreach at the Toronto Wildlife Centre.
Is relocation an option?
During the virtual town hall Thursday night, one of the repeated questions was whether the coyotes could be relocated.
Both Dennis Murray, who spoke with CBC, and Victoria Badham emphasized during the town hall that relocation is not feasible.
The members of the rescue team at the Toronto Wildlife Centre, who are trained professionals, often have difficulty catching sick or injured coyotes. Healthy coyotes, such as the ones in Liberty Village, would pose an even greater challenge to capture in the field. Badham further explained that the only trapping methods likely to have success would be the “body grip method.”
Murray also told CBC News that a trained trapper could remove the coyotes, but he warned that the area would likely be repopulated within a year or two, making it far from a lasting solution.
Badham also raised ethical concerns about using a trapper, warning that coyotes could end up in dog hunting pens. She emphasized the need for transparency if such options are explored.
Will the coyotes be killed?
At this time, that remains unclear. The City of Toronto has repeatedly stated that lethal action is a "last resort," to be considered only if a coyote is deemed a "bona fide risk to the public."
If such a determination is made, the City has stated that the coyote will be captured using either a body-gripping trap or a firearm2.
So what’s being done?
During the meeting, The City of Toronto committed to increased patrols, confirming that staff have been trained on aversion techniques and will deploy them if they encounter coyotes.
In an email received by Deputy Mayor and Spadina-Fort York Councillor Ausma Malik, on February 14th, which was sent to participants of the virtual town hall, stated:
In the meeting we also secured commitments for additional staff and an additional night shift for patrols (from 5pm to 9pm starting this weekend), as well as a community walk with staff. As this work comes into effect, the following measures remain in place:
Increased hours of patrols, and numbers of patrol staff in key areas, including further expansion based on community feedback
Improved and simplified reporting through 311 - please continue to report all concerns
Ongoing lighting and fencing assessments in problem areas
Our team will be following up in the following week with:
A summary of what was heard during the meeting, compiled by City staff, including responses to the most common types of questions asked in the meeting and anything information that was requested but not covered
A resource sheet for the community Residents did raise concerns regarding some officers being inside their vehicles for a lengthy amount of time. Dr. Attard explained to the town hall that officers may be seen inside of their vehicles due to weather. Further explaining that officers are also entitled to breaks. Dr. Attard did say that if residents had concerns that they should be calling 311 to report them.
-Deputy Mayor and Spadina-Fort York Councillor Ausma Malik.
It has been made clear, regardless of if the coyotes are captured or killed, the underlying problems that led to the situation need to be addressed in order for there to be effective change implemented.
If you see off-leash dogs or people feeding wildlife, report it to 311.
For more information on aversion techniques click here.
If you’d like to watch the City of Toronto and Coyote Watch Canada’s presentation on Coyotes in the Urban Landscape click here.
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Hody JW, Kays R (2018) Mapping the expansion of coyotes (Canis latrans) across North and Central America. ZooKeys 759: 81–97. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.759.15149
City of Toronto and Coyote Watch Canada, Coyotes in the Urban Landscape, City of Toronto, accessed February 15, 2025, https://www.toronto.ca/ext/digital_comm/mls/coyotes-in-the-urban-landscape/story_html5.html.
Thanks for sharing this info that will affect many Canadians both in cities and rurally. And is a shared issue globally. The threat of habitat loss and the mismanagement of resources, including park spaces, housing and community services. We would be well served to prioritize biodiversity (and diversity in all matter of things) in these changing times as our link to what is vital to a thriving future for all. If we’re not careful we could end up living in a world that is only people, pets, livestock and curated nature. I can bet everyone on this platform is able to recall at least one moment when wild nature touched them profoundly. That is worth protecting. Sacrifice for the sake of preserving the dynamic balance of nature should be at the forefront of all city planning IMO. Including the small village I live in where this is an ongoing problem. Progress must be made only when mindful of a holistic viewpoint of true evolution. A revolution and not a devolution based on greed and shortsighted growth serving few.