Coyotes Suffer The Gun: More SoCal Wildlife Killings

Photo by SKD's LA Street Scenes via the LAist Featured Photos pool

Laguna Woods is not the only SoCal zone killing "invasive" coyotes, and seven appears to be the lucky number.

Altadena County has also "removed and killed" seven coyotes this summer, reports Altadena Patch, due to an increasing number of reported pet attacks and coyote sightings.

The county traps and kills coyotes only when they appear to be a nuisance, said Raymond Smith of the county's Weed Hazard and Pest Management Bureau during Tuesday's City Council meeting. He also noted that humans must prepare to coexist with the animals.

"Nothing that I can do, or the Sheriff’s Department, or anyone else, is going to get rid of them," Smith said.

Altadena officials will continue to trap and kill the animals until the department determines that they are no longer a problem for residents. MaryEllen Schoeman, a wildlife rehabilitator with Animal Advocates, spoke in opposition of the policy.

"Trapping, with all due respect, does not work," Schoeman said. Once an animal is removed, another animal tends to fill the void, she said.

She schooled meeting attendees on coyote habits and suggested tips for deterring the wild animals from residential areas.

*Coyotes that establish a den on a resident's property can be removed by the bureau.
*Residents should strongly discourage or report anybody who is feeding coyotes.

*Residents should not leave out trash or food on their property.

*Pets will not be safe behind fencing unless it is very high. Six feet is not high enough.

*Adults should not fear a coyote attack as they only happen in extremely limited circumstances.

*This is an unusually strong year for coyotes in the foothills, and the population levels are high. Populations tend to be cyclical, so it will not remain this way forever

Coyotes are not the only wildlife foraging for food in inhabited areas this year. A recent bear sighting in Glendale has alarmed officials and residents; however, the beasts have yet to be identified as a threat. We hope the brown creatures stick to munching on garbage to avoid the spray of bullets.

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By Lauren Lloyd in News on August 17, 2011 2:00 PM

Comments [rss]

jackcorvina

Sorry you were misrepresented by the press. You should contact the author for a correction, however you still are misrepresenting the facts judging by your response above. I ask how Ms. Sherif, who had her terrier pulled off the end of the leash as she was walking her dog, could have prevented that particular coyote attack using education and awareness? You want people to speak to the coyotes in soothing tones and ask them politely to stop eating their dog? Ma'am you just don't live in the real world. Trapping and killing is all coyotes understand. A severe speaking to and cowering from them in the corner in your birkenstocks, behind your beaded curtains may be what you want to do, but the rest of us are going to use common sense.

MaryEllen Schoeman

I did not say that, it was misreported. Raymond Smith, who is in charge of the killing program, said the mothers and babies in the den would be removed. I asked him if that meant killing them, and he said yes. I never advocated 'removing' or killing. Trapping is not a valuable tool for urban wildlife issues; in city after city it has failed to work and continues to fail. Public education and awareness is a much more effective method for successfully managing an urban coyote population. It's very simple - if you kill them, more will come. If you stop giving them a reason to come, they will stop coming.

jackcorvina

Schoemann says trapping does not work, yet she says that coyotes that establish a den can be removed, which implies trapping them. Trapping does work to remove individual coyotes that are causing a problem then? Trapping with all its bad connotations is a valuable tool and shouldn't be so quickly discounted by its opponents. Especially when they oppose trapping in one breath and then recommend it in the next.