Two arrested after allegedly feeding coyotes in Stanley Park

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The BC Conservation Officer Service has confirmed two Lower Mainland residents were arrested and had their vehicle seized in connection to allegedly feeding coyotes in Stanley Park Tuesday.

In a video released to Facebook, Insp. Drew Milne said the conservation service is taking the matter seriously.

“The direct seeding or placing of attractants out to lure dangerous wildlife such as coyotes is a dangerous activity and creates a public safety risk,” he said.

Milne said at least 45 people have been hurt, while 11 coyotes have been killed “in part due to this unlawful human behaviour.”

Four coyotes have been captured and killed during a cull in the park. Seven others were euthanized before the formal cull began.

“It is not normal for coyotes to approach or pursue people. Aggressive behaviour towards people is almost always the result of the animals becoming too comfortable to humans, due to it being fed, either directly or indirectly,” he said.

However, one animal rights lawyer said while the arrests are a good start, more needs to be done.

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“They have to increase their enforcement throughout the park all the time, so it’s not enough that these two people were caught. This is an ongoing problem and has been for a very long time,” Rebecca Breder said.

Breder said there are simple fixes around the park that could further stop coyotes from interacting with humans.

“They have to change all the garbage cans. I don’t know why they haven’t done this yet — why haven’t they changed the garbage cans to wildproof them?” she asked.

Breder wishes people had been caught before the cull — something which she believes won’t work anyways.

“Science tells us that killing coyotes and wildlife, in general like this, is not a long term solution,”

The BC COS said it will continue to “take enforcement” against anyone who is found feeding dangerous wildlife.

“We cannot stress enough the importance of not feeding dangerous wildlife. Anyone with information related to this investigation, or any other suspected illegal feeding of dangerous wildlife, is asked to call the COS Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) hotline at 1-877-952-7277”

The BC Conservation Officer Service has confirmed two Lower Mainland residents were arrested and had their vehicle seized in connection to allegedly feeding coyotes in Stanley Park.https://t.co/BU21gctlyA pic.twitter.com/g4c90CKNaX

— CityNews 1130 Vancouver (Inactive) (@news1130) September 23, 2021