A Toronto city councillor says the city needs a new policy on how to deal with coyotes.

Coun. Glenn De Baeremaeker says that policy should be not to shoot, trap or poison coyotes.

"Coyotes are not going to steal your baby. They're not going to assault you. They're not going to chase you down the street," he said.

Last month Toronto police shot and killed a coyote and De Baeremaeker says he's heard from residents who want to do the same.

He wants city staff to develop formal rules — including an official ban on killing and trapping them.

"There are better ways to rid your neighbourhood of a coyote than resorting to extreme measures that could do more harm than good," he said.

De Baeremaeker's plan also calls for more public education about coyotes, along with a ban on feeding them.

Toronto Wildlife Centre executive director Nathalie Karvonen says the ban on feeding is the key.

"If you don't feed them, they'll just quietly go about their business and they will ignore people, which is what most coyotes are doing in Toronto."

Last month a dog was killed by a coyote in the Beaches neighbourhood..

But Karvonen says it's been over 10 years since an attack on a person in Toronto and in that case, the coyote nipped the hand of a woman who was feeding it.