City of Toronto Releases Expert Panel Recommendations to Address Coyote Activity in Fort York and Liberty Village

Toronto – The City of Toronto has unveiled recommendations from an independent wildlife expert panel to tackle ongoing challenges posed by unusually bold coyote encounters in the Fort York and Liberty Village areas. The panel, comprised of experts in coyote management, biology, and animal behavior, conducted a thorough review of the City’s response to these incidents between November 2024 and March 2025.

The panel’s findings indicate that Toronto’s current approach aligns with best practices observed in other North American cities while identifying a key issue: food-conditioned behavior among coyotes. Up to four coyotes in the area have associated humans with food due to direct and indirect feeding, which has contributed to increased aggression, particularly towards dogs, a behavior typically linked to the reproductive season.

Coyotes generally aren’t a danger to people but they can be to pets.
Keep your pets safe by:
🦮Keeping dogs on a leash
🐈 Supervise your pets when they go out
🌲 Avoid walking in densely forested areas.

Want more tips? Check out this page: https://t.co/7wtAhYYAY0 pic.twitter.com/GiP6Aaj1VO

— City of Toronto 🇨🇦 (@cityoftoronto) March 17, 2025

Expert Panel Recommendations

To mitigate these concerns, the panel has proposed several immediate actions, including:

• Deploying a specialized team to assess the coyotes, apply adapted aversion techniques, monitor outcomes, and report findings to City staff.
• Continuing aversion techniques using bodies, voices, and handheld objects instead of projectiles, firearms, or dogs, which could heighten defensive reactivity in the animals.
• Enforcing regulations against wildlife feeding and illegal dumping to remove human food sources.
• Improving urban infrastructure by repairing fences, enhancing lighting, and increasing sightlines.
• Strengthening public education on how wildlife feeding, garbage disposal, and off-leash dogs contribute to coyote activity.

These recommendations will guide updates to the City’s Coyote Response Strategy, set to be reviewed by the Economic and Community Development Committee later this year.

City’s Response to Date

Over the past four months, City staff have actively responded to coyote concerns in Fort York and Liberty Village. Daily patrols have been conducted to implement aversion techniques aimed at retraining the animals. Other measures include improved lighting, fence repairs, additional signage, and strict enforcement of waste disposal regulations.

The City has also engaged with the community through educational sessions, flyer distribution, and multiple meetings to provide information on coyote safety and hear resident concerns. Officials have committed to implementing all expert panel recommendations, with the participation of both City staff and residents seen as crucial to successfully restoring a safe co-existence with wildlife.

If coyote behavior changes in ways that compromise public safety, the City has stated that further measures will be considered.

Background on the Expert Panel

The expert panel consisted of seven specialists with extensive experience in urban coyote management, animal behavior, and ecology. Some panel members have over 30 years of expertise and national recognition in their respective fields.

The review process included examining incident reports, gathering information from residents, Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik’s office, and City staff, as well as conducting a walkabout in key coyote activity zones.

For further details on the City’s coyote response and wildlife co-existence tips, residents can visit the official City of Toronto website: toronto.ca.