Members of the Board of Selectmen in Nahant, MA, have the dubious distinction as the first municipality in the state of Massachusetts to pay federal agents of the USDA Wildlife Services to shoot an entire population of coyotes inhabiting the area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaP6BiMCfWE&t=1680s.

The Humane Society of the United States refers to the USDA Wildlife Services as Wildlife Disservice. USDA Wildlife Services has been exposed for its brutal killing of over 1,75 million wild animals in 2021. And, did Nahant officials also miss Harper's Magazine report on "The Rogue Agency"?

Unable to differentiate between a "habituated" coyote and those who have gone unnoticed by humans, Selectman Joshua Antrim stated that "the assumption will have to be that they are all problem animals." Coyote experts warn this mass removal of coyotes is unsound and can be counterproductive. The behavior that’s been reported - the attack on three dogs during the coyotes’ sensitive pupping season, and the current “nonchalant” reaction to humans - does not indicate a human safety risk. 

David Wattles of Massachusetts Wildlife and Fisheries, despite assisting Nahant, made it plain at the meeting that any reported aggressive behavior by coyotes in any municipality cited by Town Administrator, Tony Barletta, "can be directly attribute[d] to intentional feeding by the public." He also explained that killing the coyotes will not prevent new coyotes "from crossing the causeway" into Nahant.

The town's authorities, claiming the animals are a public safety hazard, have spent months arranging for what Antrim called "this execution by professional sharpshooters" who will use silencers so as not to "disturb" residents with the sounds of lethal discharge from their rifles. Too bad such time and effort was not devoted to a more serious plan to prevent the problem. Just as disturbing as the upcoming hunt is the town's aim to persuade state legislators to reconsider the current Massachusetts law that bans the use of painful and potentially maiming leg traps that also harm a myriad of unintended victims.

Wildlife professionals are offering free services to resolve Nahant's issue by providing: intensive aversion and hazing techniques; a response plan to be taught to local officials to ensure a safe and healthy coexistence between coyotes and humans; help creating a bylaw that prohibits feeding of certain wildlife; and public education well beyond the little that the town's authorities have so far recommended or instituted. Inaction has contributed to the coyotes' increased tolerance of humans, and leaving residents to fend for themselves has caused confusion and insecurity.

The Town of Nahant, which has waged a united and brave years-long fight to preserve wildlife habitat and open space from expansion by Northeastern University, should know better. Considering such context, Nahant's plan to annihilate coyotes is unfathomable.

"Killing is not the answer, says Rebecca Dmytryk, who is affiliated with Humane Wildlife Control, Inc. "These coyotes need to be worked with by professionals to re-establish safe and respectful boundaries. No bloodshed. We're one of at least two organizations that has offered this type of assistance to Nahant's town administrator and selectmen, and I am hoping they accept the help." She and her team have offered to spend at least a week in Nahant to address the coyotes' behavior. "I am confident your town would experience the same immediate reduction in sightings and encounters with my non-lethal tactic as you would if the family was killed. It’s the one tool that hasn’t been utilized - professional hazing."

We ask that the Town of Nahant halt its plan to indiscriminately kill an entire population, and instead, accept expert help to alleviate a difficult situation and learn how to live in peace with the coyotes. Let them hear you, loud and clear, by voicing opposition at their upcoming Board of Selectmen meetings the first and third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The next meeting is December 21, 2022, at 6:30 p.m.