Canada: The unfair crusade against coyotes

Erin LutherThe Globe and Mail

Coyote hysteria is once again gripping Ontario, said Erin Luther. A coyote grabbed a cat off someone’s porch last month “while the neighbors looked on in horror”—and that’s all it took to bring on a wave of calls for coyote culls.

Indeed, every time one of these attacks comes to light, newspapers are full of stories denouncing the “brazen” animals that go “stalking innocent pets.” Coyotes do attack cats—but so what? Cats that are let outdoors interact with wild animals every day, killing mice and songbirds, yet people only complain when the cats are on the losing end of the encounters. Why do we “turn a blind eye to the annual slaughter of billions of wild animals by free-roaming cats?”

If we say that it’s only natural for cats to eat birds, then we must also agree that it’s perfectly natural for coyotes to eat cats. A true animal lover would protect both cat and bird by doing the only humane thing: Keep your cat inside.