Calls to install wildlife-proof garbage bins in Stanley Park
West End resident Kam Li was enjoying the serene trails of Stanley Park when something stopped her in her tracks: a garbage bin filled to its brim.
“I found it was outrageous,” Li said. “I could see juice bottles and food packages. I was also very amazed that the bins were not replaced with animal-proof bins.”
As part of a pilot program, seven wildlife-proof bins were added to the Lost Lagoon and Prospect Point picnic areas two weeks ago.
But Li was baffled by the fact that the majority of trash bins were not changed.
“I don’t know why they are doing a pilot because it’s been more than 10 months that we know about the coyote attacks,” she said. “If they can have money to rent the fences to surround the park, I don’t know why they don’t spend the money more efficiently.”
The fences were erected during a two-week cull in which four coyotes were killed earlier this month.
Since December, 45 people have been attacked and consequently, a total of 11 coyotes have been destroyed.
Li fears those numbers will go higher unless immediate action is taken.
“The (regular) trashcans are easily accessible by coyotes, so I feel instantly unsafe,” she said.
Experts agree that wildlife and human food do not mix.
“It happens quite quickly when animals learn to associate people with food they become very aggressive,” said Colleen Cassidy St. Clair, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta.
“We've shown with some studies in my lab, that the microbiome changes, the gut bacteria of coyotes changes, when they're eating human-sourced food, and some of the changes that occur in these coyotes are similar to changes that have been noted in dogs that cause more aggressive behaviours,” she explained.
Li said that’s exactly why more needs to be done to prevent coyotes from getting into human trash.
The Park Board did not answer questions about how long the pilot will last and what the next steps are.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.