Five dollars a paw

Years ago, I had the very good fortune to be a passenger in a low flying aircraft circling over Nova Scotia. Until that time, I really didn't appreciate how very much of our beautiful province is still very 'wild and wooded'. So it should be no surprise that most Nova Scotians do not have to visit a park or a zoo to see wildlife in person.
On the front door of the Natural Resources site, http://www.gov.ns.ca/NATR/, there is a link to a FAQ about coyotes. In the wake of last month's tragedy in Cape Breton, they have likely been swamped by inquiries. And of course, it has also inspired a general hue and cry for the government to put a bounty on coyotes.
Bounties don't work for all the same reasons that the catch and kill approach never addresses the feral cat overpopulation problem. Now before the keyboards catch on fire... I'm not naive enough to be suggesting that a TNR program for coyotes is part of any meaningful solution.
However .... when livestock are left outdoors overnight ... or when pets are left unattended or worse ...helplessly tied... outside, it provides a food source that makes the area attractive to coyotes. When domestic pets are consistantly abandoned in certain areas ... it also provides an easily obtainable meal for the pack.
In nature .... everything is connected. Decimating the coyote population doesn't protect livestock and pets .... it only triggers a natural increase in breeding for the coyotes to compensate.
But ... prejudice is a hard thing to overcome, especially because it is usually based on fear. Not to be mean, but it really won't matter to the politicians that coyotes are so closely related to dogs that it sometimes takes a dna test to tell the difference.
Why is this important? Saskatchewan has just implemented a pilot program that will run until March 2010 ..... the provincial government will pay hunters a bounty of $20.00 for a coyote ...all they need to do is produce four coyote feet. If we do not want to see a coyote slaughter here in our province, the Hon John MacDonell (NDP), may be contacted at min_dag@gov.ns.ca. In addition, should you wish to express your concerns to your own MLA , contact information may be found at Members - Alphabetical for NS.
What time is it? It is always time to remember that strong voter feedback is still one of the most effective way to protect the animals.