NAHANT – The Board of Selectmen announced on Wednesday that members voted to authorize the Town Administrator to sign a Cooperative Service Agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The agreement will make Nahant the first community in Massachusetts to approve the hire of USDA Wildlife services to help dispatch habituated coyotes by means of hiring sharpshooters to hunt down and kill coyotes in the area.
“The Town of Nahant, like many other communities, has been dealing with habituated coyotes with multiple documented cases of aggressive behavior toward residents,” said Board Chairman Gene Canty. “MassWildlife has authorized our community to dispatch the problem coyotes but our legal options of ways to do that is limited, ineffective, and not practical.”
The town is actively hiring rifle experts and the program could start next month. The length of hunting will most likely take a couple of weeks, depending on the severity of the situation, according to Town Administrator Antonio Barletta.
Wildlife Services is a very safe and professional program that makes use of the most recent technologies to conduct effective and safe operations with wildlife. Equipment that the sharpshooters will use includes night-vision, thermal-imaging scopes, and spotlights, and all activities are enabled under a special permit from MassWildlife. According to Barletta, eliminating problem coyotes will be conducted in the safest manner in coordination with Town officials and the police.
The Board’s decision comes after extensive conversations with wildlife management specialist Dave Wattles of MassWildlife in order to address an increase in contact between habituated coyotes and residents.
Coyotes become reliant on meals associated with humans, develop habituated behaviors, and exhibit bold and aggressive behavior toward people and other animals. Three times in the past year, a coyote has taken a pet off its leash while under its owner’s control. It is believed that there are a dozen coyotes in Nahant, which is more than what Mass Wildlife considers average for a one-square-mile suburban area.
Most recently residents have reported being stalked or surrounded by coyotes while walking their pets.
The Town has been collaborating closely with MassWildlife representatives to inform locals about how to avoid encounters with coyotes and how to properly haze coyotes, so they learn to stay away from people.
“MassWildlife officials have taught us that the focus of our response to an increased population of coyotes in our Town has to be education,” said Selectman Josh Antrim. “However, when coyotes become habituated and present a major significant public safety risk, we have to consider all legal means to eliminate that risk.”
Barletta notes that news reports about conflicts between habituated coyotes and humans have become more common in recent years. Three weeks apart, two individuals in Swampscott were bitten by coyotes in the same parking lot in July. Another Swampscott resident who was out walking a dog in October claimed to be confronted by a pack of coyotes.
Having habituated coyotes is not unique to Nahant and similar urban and suburban communities have a difficult time managing these issues. Town officials are advocating for a legislative solution.
“When a Town is given authority to eliminate habituated animals but can’t because the tools to do so aren’t practical, the Town is put in a very difficult position,” Town Administrator Barletta said. “A long-term solution would be to pass legislation allowing humane traps and holds that effectively capture problem animals. Without a legislative change, communities like Nahant will be put in a position to consider the discharging of firearms to eliminate problem animals, creating one risk in an effort to eliminate another.”
The current one-trap solution in Massachusetts for problematic coyotes is ineffective and more recent attacks brought the hunting option to the table, according to Barletta. Hunting these coyotes is only a short-term solution to a problem that has spanned nearly a decade. The Town of Nahant is not trying to eradicate coyotes.
