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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, February 2, 2012 · 10 Coyote population will decline on its own Continued from page 5 tion. Something important you should probably know more about does not." Howie singled out one magazine story that talked about a woman walking her dogs in the woods. According to the article, one dog became `locked in combat' with a coyote, the other `bravely' broke up the fight, but then four more coyotes appeared and `stalked' the woman until she was able to `escape'. "In the end she thanked her dogs for saving her life," said Howie. "Let's stop and break down the (magazine) story to just the facts. The individual was walking two dogs off leash in a forest and it was early winter just before sunrise. While out of sight, her dog got into a scuffle with a coyote. I say `scuffle' and not `fight' because neither the dog nor the coyote was hurt. The other coyotes in the group stood and watched her and her dogs until they left. That seems somewhat less scary to me. That's because it's just the facts." Not all the residents who attended the meeting were satisfied by what they heard, demanding more concrete action to deal with coyotes. "What is the government doing to protect us," said Phillip Thatcher, who lives near John Paul II Catholic School. "Over the past two months, I have seen a coyote four times when we go for our morning walks. Several of my neighbours, who also walk on a trail in that area tell me almost Cindy Toth every day that they've seen a coyote. One of them says they've seen three coyotes every day. Nothing is being done. Why not?" Kim Ramashoye, who said her dog was attacked by a coyote on Jan. 11, also asked why nothing was done after multiple dogs in the West Oak Trails area were attacked. Pisapio said the Ministry of Natural Resources will be working with the Town of Oakville in the future to help them identify problem coyotes whose behaviour may escalate. He also said that killing every coyote in Oakville, as some have suggested, is not a sensible idea as coyotes eat geese, mice, rats, raccoons and other animals, which can cause problems for humans. Pisapio said the cull approach would not work as governments across the continent have been imposing bounties on coyotes for decades with little effect. Relocation of coyotes was also said to be impractical as the animals would simply find their way back. Pisapio said, with the exception of black bears, relocations of this sort are also illegal. While coyotes may be top of mind in Oakville now, Pisapio said, coyote populations will naturally decline on their own. "Mange (skin disease) tends to spread more quickly when densities are high and coyote populations are particularly susceptible to mange," said Pisapio. "The last time this happened was 2001 and a population that was very high crashed very substantially. That will happen again." For more information, visit www. oakville.ca. Halton MP Lisa Raitt to meet constituents Saturday Halton MP Lisa Raitt will be in Oakville, Burlington and Milton this Saturday to meet with constituents to hear their concerns and to discuss what they feel Parliament's priorities should be in this session. The House resumed Monday, but the MP said she wants to speak to constituents and get their views. "As part of an ongoing effort to increase accessibility and opportunities for constituents of Halton to give their opinions to me, these meetings will take place in three locations across Halton," said Raitt. "I encourage anyone who is interested to come out and join our discussion." Raitt will begin her morning session in Milton from 9-10:30 a.m. at the Milton Centre for the Arts at the Del Ridge Room, 1010 Main St. E., Milton. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. She'll then go to Burlington where residents can meet her at the Appleby Ice Centre in the multi-purpose room, 1201 Appleby Line, noon-1:30 p.m. Registration is at 11:30 a.m. She'll end her day in Oakville at the River Oaks Community Centre in Meeting Room B, 2400 Six Line, from 3-4:30 p.m. with registration at 2:30 p.m. For more information, contact Raitt at 613-996-7046. www.solsticeresturant.ca