N.S. coyote bounty begins
Tourism boycott urged
Last Updated: Friday, October 15, 2010 | 10:24 AM AT
CBC News
Trappers will get $20 for each pelt. (CBC)Nova Scotia's coyote bounty begins Friday with the start of trapping season.
Trappers will get $20 for each coyote pelt until March 31, when the season ends.
Natural Resources Minister John MacDonell said the pelt incentive program is an attempt to protect Nova Scotians from aggressive coyotes.
He said his department has also hired a wildlife biologist to look at conflicts between humans and wildlife and is training 15 trappers to target problem coyotes.
This will all help to reinstil a fear of humans in the animals, he said.
MacDonell said department officials have removed more than a dozen "potentially dangerous" coyotes from school properties and other public areas since April.
Gary Fisher, president of the Trappers Association of Nova Scotia, said the pelt incentive is enticing former trappers to return this year.
Calls for bounty
There are an estimated 8,000 coyotes in Nova Scotia. Earlier this year, MacDonell said as many as 4,000 could be killed by next spring.
There were several calls to bring in a bounty after the death of a Toronto singer last October. Taylor Mitchell, 19, was killed by two coyotes while hiking the Skyline Trail in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Both animals have since been caught and destroyed.
U.S. website urges tourist boycott
The coyote bounty has provoked a call on a well-known U.S. news website for American tourists to boycott Nova Scotia.
Huffington Post commentators Camilla Fox and Chris Genovali urged readers on Thursday to email MacDonell to say they won't be spending tourist dollars in Nova Scotia until he stops "predator bounties."
Fox, founder of Project Coyote, a U.S. organization promoting "educated coexistence" with coyotes, and Genovali, executive director of the B.C.-based Raincoast Conservation Foundation, argued that Nova Scotia has no scientific justification for its cull.
With files from The Canadian PressShare Tools
Latest Nova Scotia News Headlines
- Man crashes car, climbs Dartmouth transmission tower
- More than 4,000 Nova Scotia Power customers in Dartmouth were without power early Friday morning after a man climbed a transmission tower and had to be talked down by Halifax Regional Police. more »
- Maritime Link rejection urged by consumer advocate
- Nova Scotia's consumer advocate is asking the Utility and Review Board to reject the Maritime Link deal as currently proposed by Nova Scotia Power's parent company, Emera Inc. more »
- Bats may be wiped out by deadly fungus: researchers
- A Nova Scotia biologist says he and others in the scientific community are perplexed that the federal government has not declared bats an endangered species. more »
- Prom dress donations pour in for grads on a budget
- A community group in Sydney Mines gathering prom dresses for graduates in need says it's been overwhelmed with donations. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Rob Ford allies set to take over if mayor steps down
- Members of Rob Ford's executive committee say they are prepared to take over the day-to-day running of the city if the Toronto mayor is no longer able to perform his duties, amid a scandal involving allegations he was caught on video smoking crack cocaine. more »
- Greg Weston: Senate scandal may be Harper's worst hour
- The widening Senate scandal that the prime minister flippantly tried to dismiss as a 'distraction' just days ago has instead become arguably Stephen Harper's worst hour. more »
- Man ‘lucky to be alive’ after Washington bridge collapse
- A Washington state bridge over a river collapsed last night, dumping two vehicles into the water and sparking a rescue effort by boats and divers who searched the chilly waterway north of Seattle. more »
- 3D printers give rise to 'desktop manufacturing'
- Customizable objects from plastic dollhouse furniture to medical prosthetics can now be designed and printed out by almost anyone at the press of a button, and is going to lead to an 'explosion of new stuff,' predicts author Chris Anderson. more »
- Rob Ford fired chief of staff for telling mayor to 'get help'
- CBC News has learned the details of what precipitated the firing of Mark Towhey as Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's chief of staff — and it was advice from Towhey that Ford needs to 'get help.' more »
- Man crashes car, climbs Dartmouth transmission tower
- Chained-teen's mom wants man who pleaded guilty 'to suffer'
- Nova Scotia high school creates all-hockey curriculum
- RCMP find 850 marijuana plants in Annapolis Valley
- Bats may be wiped out by deadly fungus: researchers
- Jury duty no-shows lead to crackdown by 2nd N.S. judge
- Maritime Link rejection urged by consumer advocate
- Fever medicine for infants, children under recall
- Beer, wine should be sold in grocery stores: Tories
