Very disappointed in your response.  I agree that the coyote who was lost in the shopping mall may have been too sick to save.  A wildlife rehabilitation centre may have made the difficult decision to euthanize them too.  But suggestions that licences for coyote rehabilitation will create problems actually creates more problems.  What happens when rehabilitation is made illegal is that average people attempt to rehabilitate animals themselves, creating public health and safety concerns.  A safe and highly qualified organization like Hope For Wildlife can absolutely provide rehabilitation for coyotes who are not too sick or injured to save, and euthanasia of ones like the aforementioned coyote who was likely dying.  Toronto Wildlife Centre and plenty of other rehabilitation centres in Ontario have rehabilitated coyotes very successfully.  https://www.ontariowildliferescue.ca/wildlifecentres/?care=coyote

Please reach out to https://www.coyotewatchcanada.com/site/home to learn more about how to successfully coexist with coyotes.  https://www.change.org/p/ask-nova-scotia-to-allow-hope-for-wildlife-to-rehab-coyotes

Nicole Corrado

On Mar 21, 2025, at 2:08 PM, Forestry and Wildlife Correspondence

ForestryandWildlife@novascotia.ca wrote:

Nicole Corrado

ntcorrado@rogers.com

Dear Nicole Corrado:

On behalf of the Premier and Minister of Natural Resources, I have been asked to respond to your email of February 25, 2025, expressing concern regarding the Department of Natural Resources’ response to an incident involving a coyote. 

Reports of public safety and wildlife welfare concerns are taken seriously by the Department of Natural Resources and the response is guided by established policies.

The Department does not allow the rehabilitation of coyotes because it poses an issue for animal welfare, and staff and public safety.  Coyotes may habituate to humans during rehabilitation and pose a threat to public safety following release.

The coyote in the incident you identified demonstrated behaviour that could be associated with a neurological disease.  Some neurological diseases in wildlife can result in behaviours that may cause concerns for, or can be transmitted to, humans, pets and other wild animals.  Thus, the decision was made to humanely euthanize the coyote and send the carcass to the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative for necropsy (i.e., autopsy for animals).  The results are pending.

Thank you for sharing your concern.

Regards,

Original signed by

Matt Parker

Executive Director, Forestry and Wildlife

c          Honourable Tim Houston, Premier

Honourable Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources