This is an amended version of a letter John Hobbins wrote to the City Council this week.
We know the Council is aware of the coyote problem in Rye. You may not, however, be aware that over the weekend a coyote was in our yard, very close to our deck where our daughter was standing with our dog. This is the first time we have seen a coyote that close to the house.
The other day, our neighbors hired a company to remove a dead deer on their driveway, which the company confirmed had been killed by a coyote. The representative informed them that the coyote would likely return that night, and it did. We were standing in our driveway with our neighbor and small children when the coyote approached.
We stress how serious a safety problem this is for the residents of Rye. Several summers ago, when there were a number of incidences of coyotes biting children and attacking and killing small dogs, two of our Oakland Beach Avenue neighbors’ children were chased by a coyote. The very next day one of our neighbors’ best friends was bitten by a coyote off Hammond Road.
It is time, indeed past time, for the City to address and act on the mounting coyote and deer situation. Their numbers are growing, and coyotes are not going to go away if you remove or hunt a few deer. Coyotes have become bolder. Residents may set Coyote traps within their property to get rid of coyotes.
We need an emboldened approach.
—John Hobbins
