Editor:
It is more than disappointing that our City Council chose to allocate up to $30,000 to Critter Busters to keep killing coyotes (11 so far!). It is a short term, non-solution to a complex issue, and it goes directly against what Laguna stands for.
Our city has spent so much time, money, and energy purchasing open space and creating habitat. Habitat that draws diverse wildlife, and should support diverse wildlife. Our open spaces and pristine habitat are what set Laguna apart from all other Southern California cities. It doesn’t make sense, really, to create habitat then snuff out the wildlife.
The removing of coyotes from one neighborhood doesn’t even solve the problem. Coyotes will come in from the wild to fill that vacuum. And, coyotes will whelp more and larger, more aggressive pups when there is stress in their environment. In a recent Indy article, Laguna’s supervisor of animal services, Jim Beres, has stated, “eradication is not the answer.”
Project Coyote is a group that is successfully working with cities to put in place humane coexistence measures. They are working with Calabasas, Orange, Davis, and San Francisco. They have reached out to our city officials, but were never contacted. Other state and local wildlife groups have reached out to our city officials as well, but they have not shown up to meetings to learn about coexistence. It seems that they are not interested in getting accurate information and seeking long term solutions.
For Laguna to be successful like other California cities, we need a long term plan. That includes educating civilians to start behaving differently. Keeping dogs on leashes, removing all food and water sources, making sure trash is secure, and hazing when needed, these are techniques that are humane, and long term. We have to learn to coexist with our wildlife. It can’t happen without all of us working together to be proactive. It takes a village.
Carey Strombotne, Laguna Beach
