UPDATE: We have added a one-click ’email decision makers’ action at the bottom of this page. It will automatically send a letter to the Park Board Commissioners and Minister Katrine Conroy calling for coexistence measures and enforcement to be made a priority in Stanley Park moving forward.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNROD) announced late last week that they would be killing up to 35 coyotes in Vancouver’s Stanley Park in response to ongoing incidents involving some coyotes biting people over the course of nearly a year.
The Fur-Bearers have communicated with legal experts, wildlife experts, our Board of Directors, and have been in communication with various levels of government. In direct response to numerous requests of how to help, we have curated this list of the biggest impacts you can have to prevent the situation in Stanley Park from occurring again:
- Never feed wildlife. While the issues related to the change in behaviour in Stanley Park are multi-faceted and require a nuanced response, feeding of wildlife is recognized as a driving factor by all experts. Feeding directly to coyotes for the purposes of photos, because of a belief they need to be fed or that it will prevent them from engaging with people and pets, changes the way coyotes respond to humans. Further, feeding of other species in the park also encourage coyotes to seek anthropogenic (human-made) foods and changes their behaviour. Feeding wildlife is frequently the cause of negative encounters between humans and wildlife, and among the easiest solutions to ending such encounters.
- Report people who are feeding. Directly reporting, with basic information such as time, location and if possible (with safety in mind) photos or videos, can assist in enforcement action, which is necessary to ending feeding. In Stanley Park, call the BC COS RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277 or Vancouver’s 3-1-1.
- Contact the Vancouver Park Board and tell them you want them to prioritize prevention tools such as the use of new, multi-lingual signage, wildlife-aware waste management practices and by-laws and resources specifically dedicated to enforcement and prevention of wildlife feeding. You can find the full list of Parks Board Commissioners and their contact information here (https://vancouver.ca/your-government/park-board-commissioners.aspx).
- Contact FLNROD Minister Katrine Conroy and tell her you want priority placed on enforcement of existing wildlife regulations and to prioritize coexistence programs as trapping is inherently inhumane and not a long-term solution. You can email the Minister at FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca.
- Support your local wildlife rehabilitator. If you want to make a direct impact on the lives of wildlife in your area, please contact and support those who are saving lives, often at their own expense. Just Google “Wildlife Rehabilitator Near Me” to get started.
Please remember to keep all communications polite, yet firm. Threats can lead to investigations, which actually pull resources away from wildlife in the field for many of these agencies.
Members of The Fur-Bearers’ Board of Directors will also be in attendance at an upcoming vigil being organized by former Park Board commissioner Sarah Blyth; Wednesday,
September 15 from 10 am to 2 pm at 2099 Beach Ave in Vancouver.
If you’d like to learn more about why relocation isn’t effective please click here; to learn more about leg-hold traps and their impact, please click here; and, to learn more about the scientific literature on coyotes and true coexistence please click here or visit CoyoteWatchCanada.com.
This page was last updated September 10, 2021.
