One Saskatoon woman is calling for legislation after witnessing a pick-up truck full of dead coyotes driving in the city.
Tiffiny Koback, who works for the Saskatoon SPCA, saw a truck with an uncovered bed carrying several dead coyotes Sunday morning in front of her at a Tim Hortons drive-thru on 22nd Street.
“For me it was devastating. It was unimaginable,” Koback said.
She took a picture of the truck and posted the photo to Facebook. The photo has since been shared nearly 50 times and garnered over 30 comments.
“To bring that kind of thing into the city where people are exposed to that and children are exposed to seeing that kind of thing is quite visually disturbing,” Koback said.
She wants to see the city or province implement legislation requiring hunters to cover up dead animals in their vehicles.
Rich Hildebrand, a conservation officer with the Ministry of Environment, said the coyote population is abundant right now and it’s open season on the animals in southern Saskatchewan. There are no provincial laws forcing drivers to cover up dead animals.
“No there is nothing in the legislation that indicates that,” Hildebrand said. “Aesthetically it’s not very pleasing to the eye…. I guess we would just suggest that if somebody is transporting them like that they should cover them up with a tarp.”
The City of Saskatoon does not have bylaws requiring hunters to cover up dead animals.
Koback hopes her photo at least draws attention to the issue. Her picture is one of a handful of photos that have been shared online this winter showing dead coyotes being transported through Saskatoon.
A similar truck was captured at a Canadian Tire parking lot while another was snapped in December near the corner of Idylwyld Drive and 24th Street.
