STUPID: Nags Head Hires Pro Trapper to Kill Coyotes

NAGS HEAD, NC – Beach resort Nags Head has hired a professional trapper to rid it of coyotes.

The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reports officials in Nags Head hired Leary Sink after receiving 68 complaints during a two-year period. The coyotes were killing pets, running along the beach near sunbathers and roaming and raising their young in neighborhoods. Supposedly, feral cat and rabbit populations have been going down. More than likely, rats and other vermin may be declining.

So far, 17 coyotes have been killed. Sink said the trapped animals are shot on site typically by an animal control officer.

Sink said the coyotes cannot be released elsewhere or they become a problem elsewhere.

Federally protected red wolves also roam the five counties and look similar to coyotes. Hair samples from the disposed coyotes will be tested to make sure they were not part red wolf.

Note: 17 coyotes in an area like the outer banks indicates that there was food there. An apex predator like a coyote seems like it would be more useful alive than dead.