Wawa Municipal Council received an update on the ongoing limited predator control hunt in town.
During this week's Committee of the Whole meeting, Charlie Todesco outlined some details of the effort for new councillors, noting that it has been running for five winters, with a small group of hunters occasionally watching three locations - the Tamarack Street snow dump, the Michipicoten Golf Course, and Wawa Creek, behind the Township garage - in order to address the local predators, particularly coyotes, who had even attacked pets in previous years.
The hunters do not use bait and must follow time and firearm restrictions, with signage posted in the areas they'd be watching, as Todesco emphasized "safety is the foremost concern".
Todesco explained that the 2021-22 season saw a six predator hunts conducted - totalling nineteen hours, all at the golf course - with two predator sightings and two killed, but he pointed out constraints from the severe weather conditions and a related increase in snow removal efforts, as well as reduced hunter participation, noting they're also limited by the number of tags they are issued as the MNRF says they can't be deemed "agents" of the Municipality.
While Council's already given approval for this season's hunt - approval is given yearly - Todesco did request assistance with access to the golf course, as it is owned by the Municipality, with municipal staff saying they'd look into it.