Liberty Village residents band together to stay safe from coyotes

Residents of the Liberty Village and Fort York area have been reporting almost daily coyote attacks on neighbourhood Facebook pages for months, with some warning about close calls and others sharing a tragic loss of a beloved pet.

One resident says she’s been feeling increasingly unsafe in the area and decided to reach out to her neighbours with an idea that could help make everyone feel more at ease while walking their dogs.

“We started ‘pack walks’ because we were seeing posts about coyote attacks regularly. So we started to think about what we could do to make a difference. Many people have dogs in Liberty Village, so why not all get together and walk together at night and feel safer together as a pack?” says Rose.

She posted the idea on the area’s Facebook group and the response was overwhelmingly positive. A WhatsApp group was soon created to coordinate walks and within a week, the pack has grown to about 100 members.

“So everyone taps in and says ‘I’m available tonight. I’m heading out. Let’s all get together.’ And we take a route that works for people and everyone gets home safe. They can also check in at any point in the day and just say, ‘hey, I’m heading out now, do you want to join?’ So there’s a buddy system going on as well,” she says.

The group meets at one of three locations nightly at 9 p.m. — Altea Fitness, Liberty Village Park and Rita Cox Park.

People from outside the neighbourhood have also joined, like Rose’s good friend Elissa who helped come up with the idea. She explains it’s an issue close to her heart.

“I have a small cockapoo and she’s my heart and joy. The things we’ve gone through with each other … I can’t even imagine if I lost her,” she shares through tears.

“The single dog moms in the community — we get it — when you’re alone and you’re vulnerable and to lose your best friend is hard.”

Even those without dogs are volunteering to join the pack walks.

“I really want to thank the volunteers that come out that don’t have a dog. Because if we ever did get attacked by a coyote, the people that have a leash, they have to man their own dog — so the ones [who come out] that don’t have a dog, it’s so much relief and support and security that we have,” says Elissa.

“I do think it’s unfair that the coyotes have been displaced and I do feel bad for them. At the same time, we need to protect ourselves. So this is just a solution that we’ve come up with in the meantime to help everyone feel safe after dark,” adds Rose.

Working on a permanent solution

Liberty Village resident Ruby Kooner lost her dog Amber a few weeks after a coyote attack late last year. The experience left her traumatized, but has also spurred her on to become a fierce advocate for safety and a permanent solution to the ongoing problem in the area.

Last week, she gathered neighbours together, all of whom had their own frightening experiences with coyotes, to collectively demand action from the city. Since then, she has spearheaded a Coyote Safety Coalition that is now having weekly meetings with ward councillor Ausma Malik and other city officials to provide feedback and come up with a humane solution.

“It is definitely a big commitment, but it’s important. As you all know, I lost my Amber and I think I’m doing this for her and I don’t want any other dogs to get hurt,” she says.

Among the measures the city is taking is daily patrols by city staff in areas that have been identified as hotspots for coyote sightings. The Coyote Safety Coalition has been advising the city about the effectiveness of the patrols.

“[In the meetings] we were also able to highlight where we need more coverage [by patrol officers] and change. So since we had that conversation … we have noticed a change in the bylaw officer’s coverage. However, it’s still not entirely effective,” she says.

Currently, officers patrol the affected areas from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. In subsequent meetings, Kooner says they will ask for evening patrols as well.

“Location wise, we would like them to cover additional locations … most of the time they are down by Fort York and that is also a hotspot, but there are other hotspots in the Ordnance triangle … and then Stanley Park is another hotspot. This week, there’s a playground at Pirandello and East Liberty, where the coyotes have been seen repeatedly. So that’s a little bit concerning as well,” she says.

“[They could also] maybe step out of their cars. I understand it’s cold outside, but then how can they effectively help haze the coyotes if they’re just sitting in their cars most of the time?,” she says.

In a statement to The Leader Spirit, Shane Gerard Senior Communications Coordinator for the City of Toronto said bylaw officers on patrol handed out 16 tickets to those with off-leash dogs in the area over the weekend of Feb. 1 and 2 alone, which come with a hefty $615 fine. To put that in context, in all of 2024, only 25 tickets were issued for the same bylaw infraction in the entire ward.

While most recent attacks have been on dogs that were leashed, the City of Toronto believes off-leash dogs in undesignated areas are contributing to coyote attacks.

“The City of Toronto has continuously engaged in educational interactions with dog owners about their on-leash responsibilities in the Liberty Village area over the last three months and throughout 2024. This has been combined with extensive resident engagement, which included a coyote community consultation session in November, 2024,” says Gerard.

“As with all bylaws, the first step is education and collaboration. If the issues continue despite education, then further enforcement action such as fines may be required to bring dog owners into compliance with their responsibility to keep their dogs leashed.”

Kooner says the current purpose of the patrols should not be for ticketing and fines.

“The reason they are patrolling at the moment should be to focus on hazing the coyotes and protect the individuals and the dogs from being harmed. I would say ticketing at this moment is secondary,” she says.

“We did bring this up with the city and they did agree … from what we understand, a directive should have been sent this Wednesday morning [reflecting this priority].”

While they wait for those changes to take effect, Ruby says the Coyote Safety Coalition will continue to work with the city until a permanent solution is found.

In a statement, Coun. Malik confirmed the ongoing collaboration with residents and expressed her sympathies.

“I am heartbroken and horrified at the harm and tragic loss of pets as a result of coyote attacks, and have been addressing this situation with seriousness and urgency. I share the community’s concerns for safety of residents and their pets and am actively working with them and staff at Animal Services and Municipal Licensing and Standards to escalate response and explore all solutions,” she says.

Along with the patrols, she says other immediate measures include “Organizing a community town hall with experts on the issue, providing a dedicated means for reporting incidents to the City … advancing a Downtown Coyote Action Plan, that responds to the specific concerns of our dense, downtown communities, which I will be introducing at the earliest opportunity which is the upcoming Economic and Community Development Committee meeting [on Feb. 26].

“The City is also working with the Ministry of Natural Resources to explore all options including relocation and trapping and euthanizing is a last resort,” she adds.

“We want to relocate the coyote safely. They are a victim of this situation just as we are,” says Kooner.

“I think this is a big lesson learned … getting exemptions from conducting environmental assessments to tear down Ontario place as well as build the Ontario Line is what has caused this,” she adds, echoing comments made by Malik and MPP Chris Glover about the issue.

“So we do need to understand how the city and the province will make changes and not grant these exemptions in the future.”