Politics & Government

Report Shows Middletown's Hunter Killed 40 Coyotes

The final report is scheduled to be presented to the Middletown Town Council at the Monday, Oct. 17 meeting.

The authorized by the Town of Middletown to eliminate “problem coyotes” to date has killed 40 coyotes.

The numbers of coyotes hunted have been reported in the following areas of town, according to a final report prepared by state Senator Lou DiPalma (D-Dist. 12, Middletown, Newport, Tiverton, Little Compton):

  • 6 coyotes from the Paradise East area.
  • 29 coyotes in the Paradise West area.
  • 3 in the Reservoir area.
  • 2 in the Kempenaar Valley area.

The Middletown Town Council is scheduled to receive the final report entitled “Aquidneck Island Coyote Workgroup Final Report” at the Monday, Oct. 17 Town Council meeting.

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“We’ve put into effect both short-term and long-term coyote management practices and this is only one of the short-term solutions to the problem, where we targeted only those trouble-maker or problem coyotes, that were identified as posing a threat,” Sen. DiPalma said Thursday.

The hunter, identified in the report as Roland Bellotti, was described as having an established relationship with farmers and landowners throughout Aquidneck Island for more than 20 years. Bellotti was already familiar with the area’s problem coyotes, having been previously hired by farmers to hunt them on a case-by-case basis.

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Bellotti was not paid for his services by the town but was reimbursed for expenses such as gas, equipment and ammunition that totaled $1,943.54, according to the report. An insurance policy the town took out to cover his activities expires July 1, 2012.

As part of the protocol the Town of Middletown and established to specifically address those problem coyotes that pose a threat to humans, Bellotti’s hunting activities were directed by Animal Control Officer Joseph Nunes, based on information received from residents’ complaints and reports. Before any hunting occurred, Bellotti and Nunes first obtained permission from farmers and land owners, as well as from abutting neighbors, the report stated.

In February of 2011, more than 300 residents from throughout Aquidneck Island had turned out at a organized by Sen. DiPalma and state Representative Deb Ruggiero to voice complaints and concerns about increased coyote sightings, their aggression and their apparent diminishing fear of humans.

, of the Narragansett Bay Coyote Study (NBCS), attributed the marked coyote population surge and reduced fear of humans to a subsidized food supply from people directly or indirectly feeding the coyotes. The more people feed coyotes, their litters of pups also grow in size and they encroach more into neighborhoods they previously avoided.

In August, the Middletown Town Council adopted Dr. Mitchell’s recommended for the long-term management and coexistence with coyotes that continue to behave in a more natural state, where they continue to live in fear, feed off rodents, deer and other natural food sources, and avoid human populations.

Part of those best practices was Middletown's adoption of stiff fines and penalties for those residents who continue to feed coyotes directly or indirectly.

Additionally, the town and NBCS is working with the state to expand the pilot program, which converted more than 6,000 pounds of deer carcasses, road kill, and farm animal carcasses into high nutrient, bio-secure liquid fertilizer at Chase Farm in Portsmouth. The carcasses otherwise would have served as another food source for coyotes, DiPalma's report noted.

Dr. Mitchell has noted that coyotes have self-regulating populations and that litters will have fewer pups if local food sources are less abundant.

As for other long-term solutions, the town also has increased its public outreach and education campaigns to discourage the feeding of coyotes, DiPalma noted.

“We’re also making a lot of progress in implementing a number of long-term solutions in management,” DiPalma said. “Getting people to stop feeding the coyotes is still a priority. For example, I know the Potter League has already increased its outreach to schools to share information with students that will in turn hopefully be passed on at home, and that’s up by more than 50 percent to previous outreach efforts. It’s still a multi-pronged approach and all of these things will hopefully help to address the problem from multiple angles.”


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