For those who reside in the condo towers of Liberty Village in downtown Toronto, there’s a serious coyote problem afoot.

So far, five pets have been killed by coyotes. As well, some people have been attacked and there have been numerous close calls. Residents have also racked up more than $7,000 in veterinary bills.

As for the response from the City of Toronto? It’s not to launch a cull, but rather, the city wants Torontonians to embrace a biblical verse — namely, “love thy neighbour.”

Indeed, the city recently launched a public relations campaign that makes the case for cohabitation with coyotes. One sign that was recently posted stated the following: “I am your coyote neighbour. Urban greenspace is an important habitat for me. I struggle to keep my family safe from dogs and humans.”

Fascinating — the copy would seem to indicate that it’s the humans and the dogs that are the problem in Liberty Village as opposed to the coyotes who have no business being there.

It’s downright farcical. Instead of eliminating the coyotes in the name of public safety, the city is all about “Disneyfying” these predators, proclaiming that coyotes are merely… neighbours. Say, neighbour, what big teeth you have!

The problem is that the coyotes aren’t all that neighbourly. The Coyote Safety Coalition has tracked more than 120 attacks on dogs in Liberty Village and Fort York to date. On its website, the coalition says it is “calling for urgent action to stop these attacks before more pets — or people — get hurt.”

We presume “urgent action” is not about mounting a ludicrous public relations campaign presenting the coyotes as “neighbours.” (Of note, when Rebel News visited Stanley Park — a coyote hotspot in Liberty Village — we noticed that the coyotes-as-neighbours signage had been removed. Was that due to the widespread scorn the city received?)

Then again the City of Toronto seems to have a profound problem when it comes to animal husbandry. A few years ago, the city erected (and quickly removed) a sign from the offleash dog area at St. Andrews Park that read: "Due to the closeness of area residents, do not allow your dogs to bark". That’s right — channel the skillset of Doctor Dolittle and somehow communicate with Rover that he needs to stop barking...

It would appear that the coyote problem will only get worse. In the wild, wolves, bears, and mountain lions keep coyotes in check. But given that these animals are AWOL in the City of Toronto, the coyote is the apex predator.

Bottom line: the city is fully aware that there’s a serious coyote problem — and it’s only getting worse. But for whatever reason, the city is reluctant to go forth with the only tangible solution: extermination. Sadly, we expect that the coyote carnage will continue as Liberty Village starts to resemble Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. What will it take for the city to take real action? The death of a citizen? Stay tuned...

Update:

I have an epilogue to this story, folks.

While we were editing our report, guess what? Apparently the City of Toronto has come to the grim realization that PR campaigns advocating that humans and pets and coyotes should all merrily get along is, in the final analysis, the stuff of fantasy.

Check out this report form City News, which states the following: “After months of dangerous coyote encounters in Liberty Village and Fort York, the City of Toronto says it has euthanized two of the animals responsible for attacking and killing multiple pets.

“The move comes after more than 100 attacks and the deaths of five dogs since November 2024, as documented by resident-led group Coyote Safety Coalition.

“In a news release Tuesday, the City said it was a ‘difficult decision,’ having long said culling the animals was not their preferred solution.”

Alas and alack, it would appear that the coyotes didn’t get the memo — or, more appropriately, couldn’t understand the language in the memo — namely that man and beast should all get along as one big happy family. Maybe that occurs in Disney cartoons, but not so much in real life.

And so it is that the public relations campaign by the City of Toronto urging residents to embrace this apex predator as a neighbour was doomed to failure. Much like the 1971 Ford Pinto, the idea of people and pets coexisting with coyotes in an urban environment may have looked good on paper. But in practice: it’s been an unmitigated disaster.

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