NAHANT – After the Board of Selectmen authorized the hiring of federal agents from USDA Wildlife Services to hunt and kill coyotes that have inhabited the area, some residents protested, aruging that shooting is not the best solution. During the Selectmen meeting on Wednesday, residents with opposing views were able to have a real-time discussion with the decision-makers about the issue.
Opponents believe shooting the coyotes will cause more problems in the long term. The opponents include the national organization Project Coyotes, the Human Wildlife Control in California, the international organization In Defense of Animals, and some Nahant residents. The opponents’ standpoint is to let the experts from California step in before any killing.
Rebecca Dmytryk from Human Wildlife Control in California spent two weeks studying the local coyotes, the 2022 police reports, and the social media posts related to coyotes. She believes the coyotes are not causing public safety issues, and people’s fear is based on faulty information.
“I think the behavior is being misinterpreted,” she said. She believes that residents are so frightened that they don’t know they are capable of hazing appropriately.
Nahant resident Francene Amari-Faulkner said that killing part of the coyote family unit would mean that Nahant would have to deal with a partial, fragmented coyote unit, and it will attract coyotes from other places.
On Change.org, the “Tell the Town of Nahant, MA, to Call Off the Killing of Coyotes” petition has 1,434 people on board at the time of writing.
Another Nahant resident, Peter Barba, agreed with the town’s decision. “I have two cats,” he said, “and they’re old and they like to try and escape from the house. I think that this is a public safety issue.” He applauded the selectmen for approving the killing plan.
Barba is not alone in this view. A group called Nahant Coyote Victims on Facebook was formed by heartbroken pet owners who have lost their pets to coyote attacks. Members post their cat, dog and pet chicken stories with details of when and where they happened.
Judith Murphy of Nahant also supported the town’s plan. She said, “I respectfully disagree that we haven’t been trained on how to haze properly. I have three little dogs, and I have to take them out one at a time on a leash in my backyard to feel comfortable. And that is not living the way we should be living in Nahant.”
Linda Tanfani has lived in Nahant for 43 years. She said she’s fearful of going out at night. She said, “I’m very scared of them [the coyotes]. I have a small dog. Everybody on my street is the same way. Everyone I talk to is scared.” She said coyotes are beautiful animals, but they’re deadly, and she does not believe coyotes should control citizens’ and taxpayers’ lives.
The Board of Selectmen explained that the plan only considers public safety, not the balance of the ecosystem. Town Administrator Tony Barletta said this — public safety — is the priority over coyotes. He reinforced multiple times that shooting the coyotes is not a long-term solution. From the past and into the future, he said that Nahant residents have learned and will learn how to coexist with coyotes.
There was no change of plan at the end of the meeting. Information of coyotes can be found on https://nahant.org/coyote-information/.
