Animals
Coyote Sign Waveny Park 04-05-17

Signs About Coyotes Going up in Waveny Park Just North of Darien

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Signs are going up to advise visitors at Waveny Park in New Canaan, close to the Darien border, that that coyotes are active in the area. Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section, said the signs are designed to continue educating locals on how to coexist safely and responsibly with coyotes. Planned for Waveny (just on the north side of the Merritt Parkway and 500 to 1,000 feet north of Darien) and two other New Canaan parks, the signs include tips on what to do if approached by a coyote and how to protect pets. “It’s just like the police doing a distracted driver campaign — it’s a forever thing and the conversation just has to keep going,” Halm said. Though coyotes have been denning in recent weeks as pups are born, locals have reported 15 sightings in New Canaan to Animal Control in the past month, Halm said.

Animals
Darien Cops Website Coyote

Coyotes Have Been Seen Around Town: Police Have Advice

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The Darien Police Department and the Municipal Animal Control Officer (MACO) have received recent reports from residents about coyote sightings in various parts of town. It has been discovered that incorrect information has circulated on social media pertaining to what the response of the Darien Police Department and animal control officer has been. ____________

— an announcement from Darien police

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The following is a coordinated statement from both the Darien Police Department and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. As coyotes have become more common and occasionally prey on small pets, public concerns about coyotes attacking people, especially children, have increased. Although some coyotes may exhibit bold behavior near people, coyote attacks on humans are extremely rare, however aggressive behavior toward small dogs is common and more prevalent during the breeding season which typically runs from January to February.

Animals
Rosemary DeClue photo leghold trap fox New Canaan 01-09-16

State Rep Pursues Bill That Would Allow Towns To Decide on Leg-Hold Trapping

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A state legislator is urging residents of area towns to contact their delegates to the Connecticut General Assembly as he pushes for a bill that would allow municipalities— rather than the state — to decide whether widely discussed leg-hold or “foothold” traps may be used in their towns. State Rep. Fred Camillo (R-151) said that allowing towns to move away from the traps— which use a footplate and curved jaws that snap onto animals that spring them — is mainly “about cruelty to animals who otherwise have no say at all in how they are treated.”
“This is something that is really horrible,” Camillo, who represents a wide swath of Greenwich, told NewCanaanite.com as a long session of the state Legislature got underway last week. ______________

— This article originally was published by NewCanaanite.com. ______________

“Horrible. And it is not just for coyotes,” he said.