Coyote Control Program in Saskatchewan, Part One

Coyotes have gone from being a familiar prairie foe to a feared enemy in Saskatchewan.

"I used to give [coyotes] the benefit of the doubt," says Duane Thompson who owns a farm near Lipton, Saskatchewan.

Thompson says that all changed last spring when he found a calf struggling to stay alive after being partly eaten by a coyote. Thompson says he's never seen such brazen coyotes, or been so afraid of the damage the animals might cause. The problem continued throughout the spring and summer as Thompson killed an abnormally high number of coyotes caught stalking his herd of cattle in the middle of the afternoon. "In all of my years growing up in Saskatchewan, I've never seen anything like it," says Thompson. And he's not the only one.

"The problem was magnifying itself everyday and we had big problems out there," says Minister of Agriculture, Bob Bjornerud. According to the ministry, calls from concerned residents were coming in from all across the province. Minister Bjornerud says the most common worry was that it would only be a matter of time before the brazen animals turned on children.

In November, the Ministry of Agriculture decided to give the Coyote Control Program a try.

Coming up tomorrow, we'll tell you how the program works and hear from some people who think the ministry has gone too far.