SASKATOON – Stuart Biech’s frustration is growing as fast as the coyote population at the root of it.
Biech, a sheep farmer, feels the provincial government is working against sheep farmers when it comes to controlling coyotes.
“They won’t let us do what we need to control them,” he said.
The use of poison baits is highly regulated in the province. They are not allowed in the Swift Current district where Biech lives because they could kill a group of swift foxes reintroduced to the area after 50 years of extinction.
Read Also
Land crash warning rejected
A technical analyst believes that Saskatchewan land values could be due for a correction, but land owners and FCC say supply/demand fundamentals drive land prices – not mathematical models
Dave Brewster, of the wildlife office of Environment Saskatchewan, said at least a dozen eagles were also poisoned by insecticide baits this spring.
Biech said strict gun control laws also make it difficult for farmers to shoot coyotes.
“They take away every tool that we can possibly use and they don’t give us anything in return,” he said.
The price of coyote pelts has been steadily declining for years. Biech used to hunt coyotes for the $200 he would get for them in 1979. Today he hunts them to control their numbers, only getting $20 apiece for them.
“That hardly pays for a guy to go out.”
Biech hasn’t had a real problem with the predators yet, but a lot of his neighbors have lost sheep. He expects that if nothing changes, the coyotes will reach his flock soon.
He’s tried many of the things suggested by the wildlife branch. He lost 70 sheep to disease by keeping them confined in a corral. The same summer one of his neighbors lost 50 sheep to coyotes. He has a guard donkey but points out that any guard animal can only be in one place at a time. He’s seen packs of coyotes work to distract guard dogs while others move in to kill the lambs.
“Coyotes figure that out pretty quickly,” he said.
Next year he might try keeping his sheep at a local community pasture.
But the problem won’t go away, he said. As the coyote population grows, more will move out to find new territory. Sooner or later, Biech said, they will appear in towns. Besides spreading disease like mange, there is a risk of domestic animals and even children being attacked. Other wildlife are already being affected.
Ed Begin, from the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, said there have been a lot of antelope kids lost to a “large population of predators” in the area.
Brewster said it is true coyotes are responsible for the low number of antelope but “it’s one of those things we let nature take care of.” He said it is unrealistic to think the coyote population will continue to grow and cause problems in towns. Disease, weather and other natural factors will kill them off.
That isn’t good enough for Biech. He would like to see the government offer a bounty for coyotes that would encourage hunting.
“If they would just give us something to work with,” he said.
But Brewster said that isn’t going to happen.
“There’s an obligation on landowners to help us out with the predator control.”
A large-scale program like offering bounties is “expensive and not very cost effective.” The wildlife branch will continue to deal with each problem on an individual basis.
