Sarasota seeks to bolster coyote policies

The Sarasota County Commission has called for more action from the state to deal with what officials said is an increasing local coyote problem.
The commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a letter to Terry Burroughs, president of the Florida Association of Counties (FAC), in which it contended that encounters between local residents and the wild canines are happening “with greater frequency and regularity.” The letter said that commissions wanted changes in how the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) handles the state’s coyote population.
“The presence of coyotes is increasingly happening in our community and neighborhoods. Our Board feels that this presents an imminent threat to the safety of our residents and visitors,” the letter said.
It went on to suggest that the county government advocacy group push state wildlife officials for a more proactive approval to control with coyotes in Sarasota County. Siesta Key has been singled out as a particular hotspot of sightings, though Commissioner Mark Smith, who represents the barrier island, said he surmises that every neighborhood in the county has coyotes.
Smith acknowledged that pushing a state-wide policy on how to handle an entire species could be “quite a challenge.”
The FWC agency has stressed for years a coexistence approach to the species. Its website makes clear coyotes are here to stay, and says they help balance ecosystems by controlling small mammal populations.