Cattle producers want coyote compensation


Attacks are killing calves and New Brunswick is only province lacking program

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Cattle producers throughout the province say they are experiencing an onslaught of coyote attacks and killing of calves, despite their best prevention efforts.

'At a time when the beef industry is trying to recover from several years of poor market prices and the BSE crisis, the coyote attacks could be the last straw for many producers,' said Jennifer MacDonald, president of the Agriculture Alliance and a beef producer herself.

MacDonald said coyote attacks have been an ongoing problem, but with the coyote population seeming to be growing and getting more aggressive, producers have decided to get more vocal about the issue.

They also want the province to create a compensation program to help farmers offset their losses.

She said one producer alone has lost nine calves recently while another has lost two in incidents in Stanley and Sackville.

Coyote populations are growing throughout the province, and urban areas are also experiencing an increased incidence of coyote sightings and human encounters.

Preventative measures such as fencing, are inadequate responses to coyote attacks and prove costly to producers who should not have to incur the cost to safeguard their herds from public wildlife depredation, the president said.

'We're the only province or territory in Canada that doesn't offer compensation,' MacDonald said.