Dear Editor:
Re: Coyotes Kill Another Small Dog, April 20 news story.
How sad that another dear pet is killed by wildlife. My condolences to the families as I know our pets are indeed beloved family members, and how traumatic that would be. I have read about bear, cougar, coyote incidents quite frequently.
I have seen in my own neighbourhood within the last year: a bear and her three cute shiny black cubs, a pair of the most beautiful fluffy grey/brown speckled coyotes, a shy bobcat being cawed at by a group of alerting crows, a grand buck with large antlers, the local raccoon family and a wide variety of birds.
I want to share my thoughts on humans living next to a rainforest and trying to find a harmonious balance with nature so wildlife services don’t feel the need to keep killing our wildlife population, which according to scientists is declining rapidly and especially with the increase of human habitation. Could it be that the main cause of these beautiful wild creatures coming in search of food is the small number of irresponsible citizens who refuse to dispose of smelly organic food waste in the proper manner? (Freeze meat/fish/poultry smelly food scraps until garbage collection day and then put out frozen non-stinking food scraps in the green can the morning of pickup.) This along with the invasive blackberries that many of these wild animals love to feed on are surely attracting the animals that then see an opportunity to catch a pet. If the focus were on first educating people (which is being done sometimes) and then the inevitable cracking down with appropriate fines on these irresponsible citizens that cause the problem, then surely we could avoid a lot of the deaths, tears and sadness and be truly living in harmony with nature.
R.G. Suchy
West Vancouver
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
