The City of Toronto is releasing recommendations from an expert wildlife panel to continue addressing the challenges posed by unusually bold coyote encounters in Fort York and Liberty Village.
This independent, third-party panel – with decades of combined experience in coyote management, biology and animal behaviour – conducted a comprehensive review (
https://can01.safelinks.protection....NPG+GihbgmXSEaalNP7XM00jCiQ7NWqZY=&reserved=0) of the City’s response to coyotes in the area between November 2024 and March 2025 to research the situation and provide the City with options for potential next steps.
The findings show the City’s approach aligns with best practices on coyote management in other North American cities while also identifying the issues are consistent with food-conditioned behaviour.
Up to four coyotes in the area have learned to associate humans with food because of direct and indirect feeding. The aggressive behaviour towards dogs was also found to be typical and timed with the reproductive season.
Panel recommendations
Due to these observations, the panel recommends that hazing (such as employing loud voices or noises) continues and that the City take measures to add resources to successfully recondition the animals in line with proven, long-term intervention strategies. These suggestions will enable the City to step up its efforts to address the coyotes in an efficient way.
The recommendations will be used to inform upcoming updates to the City’s Coyote Response Strategy (
https://can01.safelinks.protection....l+/hMHyEkpu+z+dTBJsCAq8XTlJsLIom4=&reserved=0), which are expected to go to the Economic and Community Development Committee later this year (
https://can01.safelinks.protection....Fa+Kz+IvXxAbXlepbS1qpOsWiYM2opjoQ=&reserved=0).
The wildlife expert panel recommended the City immediately:
Procure a specialized team to assess these coyotes, apply adapted aversion techniques, monitor results and report back to City staff;
Continue aversion techniques that utilize bodies, voices and handheld objects (rather than projectiles, bullets or dogs, all of which could increase the defensive reactivity of the coyotes);
Remove human food sources by continuing to enforce no dumping and no wildlife feeding bylaws;
Repair fences and improve lighting and sightlines;
Increase community education for the public about how dumping, wildlife feeding and dogs off leash impact coyote activity.
The City understands the urgency of this matter and is committed to completing all recommendations during this process. This work requires the participation of City staff and residents so the neighbourhood can be restored to co-existing safely with wildlife. The City thanks those who live, work and play in Fort York and Liberty Village for their patience and cooperation.
If animal behaviour changes in a way that affects public safety, the City will consider a range of further actions.
Coyote response action in Fort York and Liberty Village to date
For the last four months, City staff have responded to coyotes in the community to address resident concerns.
Patrols in the area occur daily and staff are conducting aversion to retrain the coyotes. The City has and will continue to improve outdoor lighting, repair fences, increase signage and enforce proper garbage disposal.
This is in addition to resident education sessions, flyer distribution and multiple community meetings to equip residents with coyote tips and listen to their feedback.
Staff will continue to assess additional techniques as needed.
