
According to the article, local officers were called at 11:40 am after reports of a coyote wandering into the downtown area of Moncton; when the coyote began walking into a residential area, police made the decision to hit him with a vehicle as they were unable to safely shoot him.
This is an upsetting and stark reminder that police and municipalities are in desperate need of animal education. Similar to the shooting of a coyote by Toronto Police earlier this year, there was absolutely no reason for lethal action. In fact, it seems that the coyote was responding exactly how a coyote should: running away from people when approached.
With more and more non-profit groups such as APFA, Coyote Watch Canada and Project Coyote providing educational and training resources to municipalities, there is no excuse for this lack of judgement on behalf of police officers or their superiors.
We strongly recommend anyone in a community that has concerns about coyote or other wildlife conflict to read up on our Living With Wildlife campaigns and visit one of our partners who specialize in coyote coexistence.