Why Did Our City Go Rogue Over Coyotes?

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Editor,

I’m among those saddened and angry about the 13 coyotes our city has exterminated. During our 20 plus years in Laguna, I have loved our random encounters and their midnight howls.

But beyond my personal feelings, I’m more concerned that our city leaders made a rash, uninformed decision to indiscriminately kill coyotes—and negated our role as stewards of the wilderness that surrounds us.

Apparently, our City Council members simply guessed there was an “overpopulation” based on anecdotal stories of coyote sightings and pet incidents, and hired exterminators to indiscriminately lure coyotes into baited snare traps and then gas them.

If they had listened to wildlife experts that offered to help, they would have learned that this approach only makes the little dogs in town more vulnerable to getting snatched and eaten.

Wildlife experts all say more aggressive and less stable coyotes simply move in to replace the dead ones. The main explanation for the increased number of sightings and encounters is that the drought parched our open space, and they are desperate and starving.

Wildlife experts agree that the only way to flesh them back into the wilderness is to stop providing opportunities for easy meals, including heightened vigilance with small pets. Other cities in OC and the state that have faced this exact problem have learned this lesson, and shifted to rigorous education campaigns.

Experts agree that sometimes a coyote loses its fear and grows aggressive, so wildlife officials need to track down that one coyote and dispose of it humanely. But the city’s blanket extermination is barbaric and illogical—and may not even kill the problematic coyote.

As word gets out about Laguna’s Wild West killing campaign, we risk being held up as the poster child on exactly how not to handle this problem. More than 4,000 people have signed an online petition demanding Laguna stop the extermination.

Laguna prides itself in seeking informed and principled solutions to complex problems. It’s ironic that a town that fought long and hard to preserve and protect the 20,000 acres of parkland suddenly started snuffing out the critters that live here.

I believe it’s the responsibility of our city leaders to counter irrational fear and hysteria with research and knowledge. Let’s stop this indiscriminate killing now, and redirect our city resources toward the only proven solutions: education, public involvement and coexistence.

 

Janine Robinson, Laguna Beach

 

 

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