Toronto Wildlife Centre wants police to review animal call policies after sick coyote shot

By News Staff

Toronto Wildlife Centre (TWC) is calling on Toronto Police to review how it responds to animal calls after claiming a sick coyote was needlessly shot by an officer in Scarborough on Saturday.

TWC says the animal has a debilitating skin disease called mange that is treatable with medication and poses no threats to humans.

The animal had been spotted several times in Scarborough over the past few weeks and TWC says it hoped to capture it with the help of Toronto Animal Services, so it could be safely treated.

On June 29, Toronto police released a public safety alert, saying the animal had a “brain disease,” but TWC says there was no evidence to support that claim.

That same day TWC staff say they intervened when Toronto police officers had their guns drawn on the ill animal.

“They explained to the police that the coyote posed no danger, had no “brain disease,” and that TWC and Toronto Animal Services were working on catching the coyote,” TWC said in a release. “The police put the guns away.”

But not for long.

On Saturday, TWC says police responded to another call about the coyote. This time, they shot it.

The animal managed to escape, leaving a trail of blood.

“The injuries are assumed to be serious since there was significant blood,” TWC said.


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TWC says police should have called them before resorting to unnecessary force. “(We were) open at the time of the shooting and Toronto Police have a direct phone number to us they have been given that they can call at any time. They did not call.”

Making matters worse, TWC says the coyote was caring for its three cubs after the mother was recently struck and killed by a car.

“The babies may now be orphaned, and are very small and unable to care for themselves,” TWC added. “We fear this shooting will now result in four coyote deaths.”

But Toronto police paint a different picture. Spokesperson Mark Pugash says officers received a call from a concerned citizen who noticed the animal acting strangely in a residential area.

Pugash says officers called Animal Services, but they were unable to attend.

“(The) officers, taking all the factors into consideration, unfortunately, felt they had no choice but to do what they did,” he said.

“We took the step that we should have taken which is to reach out to the experts employed by the city and they unfortunately were unable to respond.”

“The officer’s responsibility is for safety in the city.”

TWC executive director Nathalie Karvonen still feels the action was heavy-handed and inappropriate.

“There was absolutely no reason for the animal to be shot,” she told 680 NEWS. “It was an extremely aggressive and unwarranted response.”

“We are absolutely surprised that police took this action,” she added. “Coyotes are extremely innocuous animals, they are timid. They are frightened of people. They are not a danger to people.”

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