Alberta livestock producers want coyotes added to wildlife compensation program. Here’s why

A county in northwestern Alberta wants livestock producers to be compensated when coyotes prey on their animals, which would bring the province in line with the rest of Western Canada.

Currently, the carnivores are not listed alongside wolves, grizzly bears, black bears, cougars or eagles under the wildlife predator compensation program.

What data and research is available suggests coyotes are Alberta’s No. 1 livestock predator. People in the industry say the local population has grown, so changes should be made to help out ranchers.

“We’re trying to bring it [in line with] what Manitoba, Saskatchewan and B.C. are doing — and it’s really not that different from what we’re already doing with other wildlife damage [of crops],” says Blake Gaugler, County of Northern Lights’ agricultural fieldman, told CBC News.

“There seems to be a bit of a hang-up,” he said.

The rural county, located about 680 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, previously tried to get coyote compensation in 2016. It will lobby the Agricultural Service Board provincial committee on Oct. 21.

The province did not respond to request for comment before the time of publishing.

What is the coyote problem?

Coyotes, deemed an agricultural pest under provincial legislation, have been an issue for livestock producers in Alberta for generations. But there is little data available to understand the impact coyotes have.

“Unfortunately, we’ve done a really bad job keeping track of that — and that’s not just industry, that’s Fish and Wildlife as well,” said Graham Overguard, president of the Western Stock Growers’ Association, an industry association based in Okotoks, Alta.

“For whatever reason, losses to coyotes are kind of swept under the rug.”

The Alberta government tracked predation losses decades ago through its predator indemnity program. Between 1973 and 1981, coyotes accounted for more than half of damage claims filed, mainly targeting sheep and poultry.

During that span, the amount of compensation producers received due to coyotes climbed fairly steadily per year, totalling more than $566,000 at the time — roughly $1.8 million today, when accounting for inflation.

In the late 1990s, the Alberta government published a booklet titled Coyote Predation of Livestock, which said coyotes were the province’s “major predator of livestock,” accounting for more than 75 per cent of all losses.

A 2015 report prepared for Alberta Beef Producers, an industry association, suggested that coyotes were the primary carnivore of concern: about two in three survey respondents were affected by coyotes.

Coyotes are part of the ecosystem and one of the multiple wildlife species with which producers are trying to co-exist, said Kaley Segboer-Edge, stewardship lead for Alberta Beef Producers. Still, producers are seeing more coyotes and conflict.

“We’re having losses, especially calves during calving season. The herds aren’t settling, so we’re having stress on the herds just even having the coyote presence,” Segboer-Edge said. “Those are kind of the two biggest impacts on our beef producers.”

Alberta’s coyote population has grown, in large part, because their pelts are less of a commodity, said Bill Abercrombie, president of the Alberta Trappers’ Association.

Canada Goose stopped buying new fur from trappers a couple of years ago. As a result, Abercrombie said, the coyote fur harvest in Alberta shrank significantly.

“[Coyotes] are so damn adaptable and smart, that once they’re established, it’s hard to deal with them,” he said.

Abercrombie considers coyotes a public safety issue in Alberta. They’re hunting livestock in packs, he said, but they also live in rural and urban areas and don’t see humans as such a threat.

“They’re an animal that needs to be managed and need some pushback from people,” he said.

What does compensation look like in Alberta?

The wildlife predator compensation program covers ranchers whose cattle, bison, sheep, swine and/or goats were injured or killed.

The program covers costs for veterinary care and medication (if the animal is injured), or the loss of an animal. Ranchers receive up to the average value of the animal, based on its type and class of livestock.

Funding for the program comes from the federal government and revenue from recreational hunting and fishing licenses sold in Alberta.

Before ranchers get paid, they must call their local Fish and Wildlife office, so an officer can confirm whether a predator killed livestock.

If the officer confirms the animal was killed by one of the eligible predators, the rancher gets a minimum of $400, but nothing if a coyote is the main predator. 

Some municipalities, such as the Municipal District of Bonnyville, in eastern Alberta, have implemented incentive programs to hunt coyotes to control their populations.

What happens in other provinces?

Manitoba, Saskatchewan and B.C. have livestock predation compensation programs that operate similarly to Alberta’s, except they each cover attacks by coyotes.

• British Columbia: The livestock protection program, among other things, offers compensation for injury, harassment or death to cattle or sheep caused by wolves or coyotes. The B.C. Conservation Officer Service will also review and submit claims regarding attacks by other wildlife, such as bears and cougars. 
• Manitoba: The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation, a provincial Crown corporation, covers myriad livestock and offers compensation for deaths or injuries caused by bears, cougars, wolves, foxes and coyotes.
  • The Manitoba government also offers the livestock predation prevention program, which subsidizes the cost of installing measures to prevent predators from harming their livestock, such as building fencing and buying guardian dogs.
• Saskatchewan: The Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation, a provincial Crown corporation, offers a robust predator compensation program. Producers can receive up to full compensation if eligible livestock, fowl or “specialty animals” are injured or killed by predators. If injured, they can get up to 80 per cent of the animal’s value to cover vet costs.

What are producers looking for?

The County of Northern Lights is looking for the provincial government to add coyotes to the list of predators eligible for the wildlife predator compensation program.  

It also wants the provincial and federal governments to forge a cost-sharing agreement that increases funding for the program, to afford greater compensation payouts.

Right now, livestock producers are on the hook for vet bills and the loss of an animal, said Gaugler.

“We need to balance the fairness of this issue and look at compensation more fairly, so that we keep people happy with the coexistence approach,” he said.

Producers understand the need for predators on the landscape, fulfilling their role in the ecosystem, Gaugler said. But there have to be measures in place to help people when predators prey on their livestock — and to remove problem wildlife.

The county also wants to put radio collars on coyotes in high predation areas to get a better sense of what compensation is needed and potentially come up with other mitigation strategies.

The trappers’ association, meanwhile, hopes the industry gets tapped to help manage the coyote population, Abercrombie said, because trappers understand how to manage animals “humanely, effectively and sustainably.”