Wildlife group concerned over Nahant’s plan to cull coyote population

NAHANT, Mass. — While the town of Nahant voted for sharpshooters from Mass Wildlife to come in to cull what’s become an aggressive coyote population, some people remain staunchly against the unprecedented move to kill the coyotes.

Opponents came together Tuesday night to hold a Zoom meeting to decry the move. They were joined on the call by a wildlife expert from California named Rebecca Dymtryk. Symtryk told those on the call that she understands there is a level of fear driving the decision.

“And that’s the problem.. people are too afraid right now they have not been empowered enough to do it correctly,” said Dymtryk, who owns a company called Humane Wildlife Control. She’s helped communities across California to live with coyotes.

The decision to shoot the coyotes comes after at least three local dogs were taken recently. And this is the first time the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been asked by a Massachusetts town to bring in guns to control what many see as an aggressive community of coyotes.

A recent Nahant Facebook post shows coyote activity remains high and the concern residents have.

“PUBLIC SAFETY WARNING: A pack of at least 10 coyotes was reported from last night between homes of 95 to 98 Little Nahant…. Please stay aware and vigilant until the population has been reduced.” the post reads.

Dymtryk says this all stems from one issue.

“We have to focus on getting rid of core problem – food,” she said.

Food left out for pets, people feeding coyotes and even bird feeders can attract coyotes.

And Dymtryk says they know the food comes from people – including their pets.

She says the way to stop them is through aversion conditioning or hazing.

“If you raise you hands clap your hands and raise your voice. Continue to raise voice so they will high tail it out of there,” she said. If not, the coyotes are smart enough to know the threat is not real and they will return.

She adds that simple things like bringing a big garbage bag with you, that you can pull out and fill with air, will make you appear larger and will frighten the animals. She also recommends carrying a stick with Mylar tape. The noise and reflective quality of the tape also scares coyotes.

And some on the call did understand pressure put on the town especially by people who lost pets. Town officials say some residents are scared by growing numbers of coyotes and that some have actually been stalked by the animals.

“From their perspective if anyone got hurt they’d get sued. So they are following advice of Mass Wildlife,” said a caller.

The best advice from the call was to reach out to town officials by email to express their strong opposition to calling in sharpshooters.

But the town maintains this is a public safety decision.

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