$20 for each set of paws that are turned i
In some parts of southern Saskatchewan, coyote paw sets cost $20. This is because rural municipalities (RMs) are trying to get rid of the growing coyote populations.
Reeve Norm McFadden said that the number of coyotes has become a problem not only for people who raise livestock but also for people who live on acreages in and around Weyburn, which is about 115 kilometers southeast of Regina.
He said that people are worried because they have seen packs of up to 15 coyotes in the area.
He said, “That can be a little scary and intimidating at times.” “So, we’ve been talking about this for a while, and we just said, ‘Let’s see if this helps.'”
Weyburn, Estevan, and Cymri are among the RMs in the southeast of the province that are offering the $20 reward. McFadden said he wouldn’t be surprised if all the RMs that border Weyburn do the same thing in the next few weeks.
Coyotes have been in Weyburn’s city limits for the last few years, and people are worried that it might not be safe for little kids to ride their bikes and play outside.
McFadden said, “God forbid something ever happened.” “Then it’s pretty much too late, right?”
He said that the Weyburn coyote bounty program should last until late fall. When it ends will depend on how many coyotes are killed and if people are still seeing large packs.
Feedback mostly positiv
McFadden said that about 95% of the feedback on the bounty has been positive. He also said that he knows it won’t be liked by everyone.
He said, “We don’t want to wipe these animals off the map.” “We need to do a little bit for Mother Nature. Since Mother Nature usually takes care of herself, right? But this is getting to be a lot.”
McFadden said that people who turn in paws have to fill out a remittance form and give the name and contact information of the landowner where the coyotes were killed. He said it’s to make sure people don’t break Saskatchewan’s law against trespassing and to stop people from trying to get the bounty for coyotes that were caught somewhere else.
The president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), Ray Orb, said that it seems like there are more coyotes in the province.
Orb said that in the past few weeks, he has gotten a few calls from farmers in different parts of the province who are having a lot of trouble with coyotes.
He said that some places have had a lot of snow, which, along with the cool spring, is causing predators to do more damage.
“I think part of that is because of the deep snow and the fact that the cattle are more confined now and aren’t out on the pasture in some places,” he said. “Therefore, they would have much more contact with predators like coyotes.”
He said that it’s a big problem now because there are so many young calves on the ground.
So, he said, “coyotes are getting into farm yards and causing a lot of damage.”
Low prices for furs keep trappers from coming
Both Orb and McFadden linked the current situation to the fact that the price of coyote fur is going down.
The North Bay, Ontario-based Fur Harvesters Auction Inc. sold western heavy coyote pelts at its fur sale two summers ago for an average of about $120 each. The average price per fur had dropped to just under $35 by last summer.
The president of the Saskatchewan Trappers Association, Don Gordon, said that clothing company Canada Goose’s decision to stop using wild fur in its products is the main reason for the sharp drop in prices. However, the shutdown of garment factories in Asia because of the pandemic also hurt the industry.
He said that trappers can’t catch coyotes anymore because the price of fur and the price of gas are too high.
Gordon said that no more than 5% of the trappers who actively hunted coyote fur three years ago are still doing it.
“So the guys are just going to wait this one out and see what happens,” he said.
“Some guys are still sitting on products they caught two years ago but haven’t sold yet.”
Gordon said that people posted on social media and online hunting forums last winter looking for someone to hunt coyotes on their land.
He wonders, though, how many people will join the bounty programs.
“It seems like a waste of something,” he said. “I don’t see a lot of people running out to get it because the furs aren’t worth anything right now.
“Just to get $20, you’re killing. No one would trap for $20, though. I don’t think anyone would go out of their way for $20.”
People say that bounty programs could go wrong
Some ecologists and conservation groups have been against coyote bounty programs in the past. These people say that getting rid of predators on the land could have big effects.
Nature Saskatchewan says that research has shown over and over again that coyote bounties get rid of the weak, easy-to-catch coyotes, leaving the stronger, smarter coyotes to have more pups.
In 2009, the government of Saskatchewan put up a $20 bounty for anyone who killed a coyote. As a result, 71,000 of the animals were killed over the course of five months, which was twice as many as the province’s agriculture minister had hoped would be killed.
Bob Bjornerud said that people who thought it wasn’t necessary to kill coyotes gave him “a lot of heat” about the program.
The program didn’t get renewed in 2010, which was the same year that the province started a program to help farmers who lose animals to predators.
The City of Saskatoon’s urban biological services department says that if you see a coyote, you shouldn’t turn your back or run away. Instead, you should act confidently, yell, and wave your arms.