Coyote problem?

They may just be the legislators who cried wolf over coyotes. A year after a price was placed on the heads of the carnivores, not a single cent has been paid out.

Worse yet for the MLA's who howled about the scourge, there is little evidence a coyote problem exists.

The debate made it to the floor of the legislature after MLA's presented concerns from farmers about the livestock they were losing to coyotes.

At one point, a bounty on any coyote that was killed was considered. In the end, legislators passed a resolution outlining a series of measures to help control the problem.

The province also turned to the P.E.I Trappers Association, giving eighteen people the right to capture nuisance coyotes. The trappers would be paid $150 for each pelt they brought in.

So, far not one coyote has been claimed under the program.

The coyote hotline has received seventy three calls in the last year.

"The vast majority of those are calls deal with information," says Randy Dibblee of the wildlife department. "They don't really know how to react, it's a matter of fear of these animals."

"In fact in most cases, when they're investigated, what we found to date is that there really wasn't any kind of problem there," adds Dibblee.

He says farmers have been taking extra steps to protect livestock. Items such as better fencing keep the coyotes away.