Students at a Brampton elementary school are being kept inside for the remainder of the week amid concerns about multiple coyotes that have been seen roaming the property.

One of the animals was first seen outside Our Lady of Peace Separate School on Mar. 1 and has been observed multiple times since then.

A spokesperson for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board tells CP24 that staff have been in contact with Brampton Animal Services “for assistance and direction” and “continue to look to Brampton Animal Services for a solution.”

However, as a precaution the school has made a decision to keep children inside until the start of March Break next week.

“Animal control has been called by I couldn't even tell you how many people. People in the community, parents, the school. We have all called and we all have gotten the response saying that they can't do anything about it because it's in its own habitat,” Anastasia Agelakos, who has two children attending the school and a third enrolled in a daycare located on the property, told CP24.com on Monday. ““It is not a danger until it is a danger. Is it going to take a child being mauled for something to happen?”

Coyote school

Agelakos believes that there are at least five coyotes in the immediate area, including three pups.

She said that residents in the vicinity of the school near Queen Street and Chinguacousy Road have actually been spotting coyotes for the last “couple of months.”

But she said that it was only last week that members of the school community began to see the coyotes in and around a soccer field at the rear of Our Lady of Peace.

That prompted a letter from the school on Mar. 2, informing parents that both staff and students had been advised “to be extra vigilant” and to report any additional sightings immediately.

“It (the coyote) was literally running around the field all day. It parked itself and just laid down in the middle of the snow in the field, 10 feet away from the daycare,” Agelakos said. “There is a small little forested tree area that it runs to. But it is running around all day long. It is extremely concerning.”

 

Animal control limited in how they can respond

Agelakos said that children are being taken directly inside the school at the start of the day and are not allowed outside for recess or lunch, for the time being.

But she said that “nothing is being done” to directly address the problem.

Speaking with CP24 on Monday afternoon, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown emphasized with parents but said that animal control staff are limited in what they can do as a result of “restrictive” provincial legislation which prohibits the trapping and relocating of coyotes.

“My heart goes out to these families. You know, the notion that your kids will lose their recess and be scared to go in their backyards just isn't right and it's not something we're used to,” he said. “I think in rural Ontario sightings like this are much more common but it is more rare in the suburban GTA and I think we need to find ways to adjust to this and make sure that there's a manner (of responding) that is respectful of the wildlife habitats but at the same time puts the safety of our residents first.”

The City of Brampton has told CP24 that Brampton Animal Services staff are attending the area on a daily basis since first being notified and are engaging in “aversion conditioning techniques” intended to get the coyotes to leave the area on their own. 

Agelakos, however, would like to see more done.

She said that her daughter was brought to tears on Friday because she was scared of encountering a coyote outside.

Other kids, she said, are “antagonizing the coyotes” when they spot them on the grounds and are “whistling” at them.

“My kids are aware of the danger but there is some that are not,” she said. “Unless animal control is going to station someone out there permanently to keep an eye on the situation (it won’t be safe). But even then how much can they do if an attack is already taking place?”