There is a story of a pack of coyotes ganging up on a guard dog to fight it to the death, and then they proceed to the sheep or cattle where they continue to cause havoc. The situation is out of control and the province is obliged to take immediate action.

Earlier this year, OFA convened a Predator Task Team to address the issue and make recommendations to the Ministry of Natural Resources. In response, MNR has suggested an outbreak of mange would likely reduce the coyote population, and OMAFRA would continue to provide compensation for losses.

When you’re a farmer finding mangled calves, sheep and lambs strewn around your fields, such a response doesn’t provide much satisfaction.

OFA’s Task Team recommendations include approval for the use of snares to aid in the capture of coyotes causing damage and losses for farmers. It also called for training for farmers who want to learn to use traps and snares as a means of controlling livestock predation on their farms.

Since installing fencing to keep predators away from farm animals is expensive, the recommendations called for federal / provincial cost share funding for fencing to control livestock predation; federal / provincial cost share funding for guard animals such as dogs, donkeys, llamas and the like to protect farm animals from the predators.

It has also been recommended that chemical deterrents be legalized, and that an investigation be done of the effectiveness of wailers, intermittent lights and other means of chasing away predators.

We have also called on government to cover the costs for farmers to employ professionals to remove problem predators from the areas experiencing livestock kills on a regular basis, and to increase compensation to modern values.

OFA believes it is time our government officials take some serious action to bring an end to predators killing livestock on Ontario farms, and we have called on OMAFRA and the MNR to take immediate action to protect livestock, dogs, people and farm businesses from an out-of-control predator crisis.