NAGS HEAD, N.C. (AP) - A trapper hired by an Outer Banks town has captured and killed 17 coyotes after the town received complaints that the animals were killing pets and running along beaches.
Nags Head Police Chief Kevin Brinkley tells The Virginian-Pilot that the town hired trapper Larry Sink after getting 68 complaints over two years.
During North Carolina's trapping season of December through February, Sink caught eight males and nine females. He saw them roaming near Jockey's Ridge and heard them howling near the Wright Brothers Memorial.
Sink says the trapped animals are shot, usually by an animal control officer.
Federally protected red wolves also roam the five coastal counties near Nags Head and look similar to coyotes. The killed coyotes will be tested for any red wolf connections.
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