County council has rescinded the “invalid” nuisance coyote bylaw adopted at the February 2010 meeting, and replaced it with one that includes changes intended to satisfy several concerns of most local municipalities.

When the February bylaw was adopted, it was sent back to Government Services for amendments. But it couldn’t be amended as the Ministry of Natural Resources said it was invalid as the county had not received ministry approval prior to the passing.

According to CAO Linda Dean, under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act no person may “hire, employ or induce” anyone to hunt or trap for gain except with permission from the ministry, thus a bylaw that would pay $50 for destruction of a nuisance coyote must first have approval from the ministry.

Although there is an open season on coyotes throughout southern Ontario, the county bylaw is not intended to create payments for a blanket destruction of the animals, but only to cull those that are a threat to livestock.

The new bylaw provides that the administration of the program is solely completed by the county clerk and the chief building official.

This overcomes the objection of local municipal officials that there were too many levels of government involved in the first bylaw.

“The local municipal staff would not need to take part in the administration of program; however, the County would provide every municipality with a package explaining the process and necessary forms to fill out,” said CAO Linda Dean in her report.

In previous reports, it had been established that a blanket destruction of the animals, rather than a culling, would not work as other coyotes would quickly move in to replace them, and they tend to breed and multiply more quickly when there’s a sparse population, according to Chief Building Official Michael Giles who is also the chief bylaw enforcement officer for the county.

Under the bylaw as now adopted, any landowner can engage a licensed hunter or trapper to protect livestock, and can obtain a compensation from the county clerk.

The landowner contacts the municipal livestock evaluator to verify the loss and determine the cause of the death of, for example, sheep just as at present. It would be up to the landowner to engage a hunter and submit a form to the ministry of natural resources to gain permission to pay the hunter.

Following all that, the carcass is marked and taken to the county, and the county pays the $50 compensation.

The cost of the program is unknown. But County Clerk Pamela Hillock says there’ll be a budget item for the year 2011, based on this year’s experience.