Officials react to Coyote Infestation in Nahant Massachusetts

 Image by Joyce Hinds, 2017, facebook, as warning to cat owners near Boston

In 2022, the officials of Nahant, Massachusetts started noticing they had a coyote problem. The coyotes had become so disdainful of people they had snatched, killed and eaten three pets directly from leashes. Numerous other pets were killed and eaten. No one knows precisely how many.  From December 15, 2022,  abcnews.go.com:

Local officials said eight to 12 coyotes inhabit Nahant, a densely settled town of about 3,300 people on a peninsula about 15 miles north of Boston. The animals have killed pets, including three that were taken straight from leashes held by their owners, said Antonio Barletta, the town administrator.

Coyotes populations are on the rise all over the country. They are causing problems, killing pets and livestock and even attacking the occasional person, from California to Texas, to now Massachusetts.  Several coyote attacks against people prompted a program to drastically reduce the coyote population in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Nahant town officials decided they needed to reduce the coyote population. They decided to hire federal agents of he Department of Agriculture. From cbsnews.com:

NAHANT - The town of Nahant will become the first community in Massachusetts to bring in trained marksmen to shoot and kill habituated coyotes. Town officials voted Wednesday night to enter into an agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture.

"We have risen to a level of public safety threat in the town," said resident Vivien Gere who lost her dog Snoopy to an aggressive coyote back in June. "I had him on a short leash and the coyote just took him off the leash and slaughtered him and ran off with him right in front of me."

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 Nahant is a densely populated, square mile peninsula where coyotes have multiplied and gotten used to humans. Officials say trapping has proven ineffective, and local law enforcement doesn't have the necessary training.

Trapping of coyotes, using traditional leg-hold traps, is very effective, given a skilled trapper. But Massachusetts banned the use of leg-hold traps in 1996. The ban was by initiative and passed with 54.7% of the vote. Massachusetts law prevents the hunting of the coyotes and trapping is only allowed by professionals. From necn.com:

But Tom O'Shea with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife says coyotes can't be hunted in Nahant and they can only be trapped by professionals.

Pet owners and animal lovers are upset at the widespread killing of their pets by animals who see the pets as just another food source. From extra.ie:

'It was heartbreaking,' she told the publication. 'He proceeded cruising down my street, carrying this cat in his mouth, and went in and out of people’s yards like he was trying to get back to his den.

Other animal lovers insist there is no reason to be alarmed.  From May 1, 2022 msn.com:

“I feel like why get upset?” Ford said. “Let them live. But a lot of people won’t agree with me on that.”

But Suzanne Walsh would.

“My feeling is, if we’re responsible pet owners and we’re aware and treat coyotes with respect, we’ll all get along fine,” she said.

Cleveland Amory lived in Nahant.  Amory was a famous and rabid "animal rights" promoter who pushed for the hunting of hunters.

Amory proposed, on air and during viewers' breakfast hour, the formation of a hunt club where human hunters would be tracked down and killed for sport, arguing that killing hunters in cold blood would be humane and kind owing to their overpopulation.

Estimated household income in Nahant is $103K with an average home value of over $500,000.

Opinion:

Officials believe there are eight to twelve coyotes on Nahant. That is one or two family groups. With an intense hunting and trapping campaign, the coyote problem could be eliminated until the next intrepid mated pair make it to the coyote heaven from the mainland.  The coyotes have plenty of water, no danger from humans, no natural predators, and plenty of food provided by the clueless humans, often in the form of pets.

There are about 470,000 carry permits in Massachusetts, out of a population of about 5.5 million adults. A permit holder might be hesitant to shoot a coyote in a densely populated area such as Nahant.

©2022 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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