色色啦 needs a specialized wildlife response team to handle the growing number of calls related to coyotes and other wild animals, according to a city staff report scheduled for debate on Wednesday.
The report recommends hiring eight full-time animal control officers, a dispatcher, supervisor and manager at a cost of $1.4 million annually, in addition to a one-time cost of $260,000 to purchase vehicles for mobile response.
The recommendation comes after the city was forced in May to cull two coyotes believed to be responsible for killing pets in the Liberty Village area.
The item is scheduled for discussion at the Economic and Community Development Committee Meeting on Wednesday, and if approved, it will be debated at the city council meeting scheduled on July 23, 24 and 25.
色色啦 is not alone in experiencing increased numbers of coyotes and other wildlife moving into the city. Municipalities globally are reporting an increase in animals once seen only in the wild now moving into dense urban areas, drawn by an abundance of rodents and human waste for scavenging.
According to 色色啦 city data there were 218 incidents from January to May 31, 2025, involving coyotes lunging, stalking or snarling聽鈥 behaviours commonly linked to food, dens or pups being nearby, and 15 coyote attacks or bites involving dogs.
鈥溕 Animal services does not have dedicated resources to proactively manage wildlife,鈥 according to the staff report.
The Wildlife Response Team would operate within 色色啦 Animal Services. TAS employs 41 animal control officers; 23 focused on enforcement and 18 focused on mobile response. TAS responded to a monthly average of 1,075 dog-related complaints alone in 2024, according to city data. The number of calls to TAS jumped 13 per cent in 2024 over 2023, to 57,387 requests.
鈥淭he city currently meets the need for urgent wildlife responses through overtime coverage and/or redeploying staff from other service lines, such as multi-tenant housing, property standards, and noise enforcement,鈥 according to the report.
Problems with wildlife in downtown 色色啦 from November to May compromised the ability of TAS to effectively answer calls in other neighbourhoods. Target response times were met only 68 per cent of the time during that period, compared to 84 per cent of the time the previous year, according to the report.
The wildlife team would be tasked with responding to complaints and with mitigating human, pet and wildlife interactions through public education and enforcement聽鈥 including taking steps to stop people from feeding wild animals.
Limited implementation of the Wildlife Response Team would begin this year, if approved, at a cost of $253,000 for 2025.
Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik said she supports the new strategy.
鈥淭his will enable 色色啦 Animal Services to be more proactive in addressing issues related to wildlife, to work proactively to support communities, and respond more quickly to situations like the one we faced,鈥 said Malik, councillor for Ward 10, Spadina鈥擣ort York, in a statement to the Star.
Liberty Village resident Emily Foucault said that while she welcomes the city鈥檚 recognition that a more proactive and better-funded approach is urgently needed, scrutiny is required.
鈥淲e need to be clear-eyed about how funds are used,鈥 said Foucault, pointing to the $1.4 million cost and the fleet purchases.
鈥淢any of us in affected communities feel that money already spent has not yielded meaningful results. We鈥檝e seen delays, inconsistent enforcement and a lack of transparency. It鈥檚 critical that this new division not become another underperforming silo.鈥
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