Coyotes and wolves have been dining out at sheep paddocks more than they ever have. The number of animals injured and killed by coyotes and wolves has risen sharply over three years, according to statistics by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food andRural Affairs. The numbers rose from 4,552 animals killed in 2005, to 4,829 animals killed in 2008.

Compensation paid to farmers over the same period has risen from $824,000 to over $1 million.

Vice president of the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency, Chris Kennedy, says the statistics tell only part of the story. "There’s an enormous amount of damage that no one can prove. The coyotes often drag the lamb back to the den, where it’s never found."

What’s more, the attacks are getting bolder. Coyotes ganged up and killed a guard dog on one Ontario farm. On another, they killed 200 lambs, he says.

East and east central Ontario have much higher livestock damages than the rest of the province, with Durham the undisputed leader and Kawartha Lakes a close second.

Kawartha Lakes deputy clerk Sandra Lloyd says the compensation package in 2009 will be more than $100,000. In addition, the city pays about $15,000 annually to a livestock evaluator. A farmer is paid $200 for a sheep and $1,000 for a cattle beast.

She attributes the high numbers to the City’s large geographic area and large number of animals.

Last November, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture at its annual meeting passed a resolution asking for government assistance in dealing with the problem. The resolution asks that governments through the Growing Forward program provide assistance for fencing and the purchase of guard animals.

The resolution asks that trappers be allowed to use snares in southern Ontario.

"We don’t want to wipe the coyote population out," Kennedy says. The sheep board does want to eliminate them where they are doing great damage.