CARCASS COMPOSTING TO CONTROL COYOTE-FARMER CONFLICTS

Rhode Island has identified geographic areas in which the coyote population has grown rapidly in the dozen years since their modern reoccupation of the state. As their numbers have grown, coyotes have increasingly affected local farmers, decreasing productivity by preying on livestock and increasing costs for fencing, shelters, guard animals, and other control techniques. Coyotes have also negatively affected residents' quality of life by preying on domestic animals.The purpose of this award is for the grantee to develop and test the feasibility, effectiveness, acceptability, and sustainability of composting as a technique for animal carcass disposal on and around farms with the goal of forcing coyotes to rely on natural food sources, thereby reducing the coyote population and increasing territory size, and thus limiting the adverse effects of elevated coyote population on farm operations and quality of life. Specifically, the project will develop, manage, and evaluate carcass pickup and composting and evaluate the effects of the program on farmers.