Mississauga councillor wants to use graphic pics to deliver ‘don’t feed coyotes’ message

At least one Mississauga councillor is calling for graphic photos of dying coyotes to be used on city signs imploring people to not feed the wild animals.

Ward 5 Councillor Carolyn Parrish made the suggestion on the heels of Ward 3 Councillor Chris Fonseca’s assertion today (March 30) that the feeding of coyotes by residents, both intentional and unintentional, has spiraled out of control in her part of the city.

“It’s actually…in Rockwood and Rathwood, it’s at a crisis situation,” Fonseca told City of Mississauga staff and councillors at today’s meeting of general committee.

Fonseca raised the issue on Wednesday after residents in her ward came to her in large numbers expressing concern over a growing number of coyote sightings and interactions. The more food coyotes get from people, the less they fear people and they come looking for more food.

The councillor said residents associations, individuals and parent councils at schools, while pleased that the City has reached out with education and awareness campaigns, want to know what more can be done as the problem is not going away.

“We have an ongoing issue in Rockwood and Rathwood (and it’s) not specific to one area,” said Fonseca, adding education and awareness efforts in addition to signage aren’t getting the job done.

“We have to bolster that messaging even further,” she told staff.

Map shows Rockwood area of east Mississauga and the Rathwood Park area (bottom left). Both spots have become troublesome in terms of coyote sightings and interactions because the wild animals are being fed by residents.

Parrish then asked staff about the idea of putting graphic photos of malnourished coyotes on City signs. She noted that’s what happens to the wild animals when their natural diet is slowly replaced by human food.

“A picture is worth a thousand words. And if you say ‘don’t feed the coyotes,’ (people) go ‘pfft.’ But if you put the pictures up there showing a skinny coyote almost dying, that would be kind of cool.”

Parrish added that it’s not uncommon to see “deaths of coyote offspring because they’re eating doughnuts instead of what they’re supposed to be eating.”

Along The Queensway, which runs east-west just north of the QEW, Parrish noted that coyotes come up to cars at stop signs looking for  doughnuts.

“And you see debris at the side of the road, burger boxes…that’s idiots that buy burgers from McDonald’s and feed the coyotes,” she said, adding three coyotes are “regular residents on our street and it’s so unhealthy for them.”

City staff said “feeding coyotes is definitely a concern” and they’ll look to add more signs to park areas “and look at different ways to increase education and awareness above and beyond what we’re currently doing.”

📢 REMINDER: #Spring is denning season for coyotes.

When walking on trails:
🚶 Be aware of coyotes as they may be more visible
🐕 Keep dogs on a leash (no longer than 6 ft.) at all times
📍 Report coyote sightings using our interactive map

Learn more: https://t.co/NlGsEYo1PB pic.twitter.com/VdDgO4AMTY

— City of Mississauga (@citymississauga) March 29, 2022

Ward 8 Councillor Matt Mahoney said the issue goes beyond coyotes to include a number of different wild animals.

“We have a wild turkey in a particular area and the only reason it’s in that area is because people are feeding it because they think it’s a pet for the neighbourhood,” he said. “I think feeding (wild) animals in general is bad, and we need to somehow get that messaging out. (It’s) not just coyotes, but turkeys and raccoons and..it attracts rats and so on and so on.”

Ward 4 Councillor John Kovac said he encountered a few coyotes while out and about in the City Centre.

“To have them in the area of Confederation Pkwy. and Rathburn Rd., you have the movie theatre in the background, the Coliseum, and the condo towers…they were hanging out right there.”