Friends, Foes of Coyotes Draw Up Sides

Like teen-age hoods, the coyotes prowl the streets of her Solana Beach neighborhood in gangs of two or three, casing back yards in broad daylight and stalking back-yard pets, Jeannie Hansen says.

She should know. The 48-year-old nursing supervisor claims to have lost eight pets in the past decade to the predators that wander up to her home next to a coastal lagoon and wildlife reserve. The last pet died just this winter when a coyote reportedly jumped her fence, decapitated her golden retriever puppy, then turned to threaten her as she went to the dog’s aid.

Inspired by complaints from Hansen and others, the federal government has begun a controversial coyote-trapping program in the thick brush around San Elijo Lagoon Reserve.

Trappers from the Department of Agriculture’s Animal Damage Control unit already have killed one coyote by using a steel leg-hold trap, setting off an emotionally charged debate over the ethics of trapping and killing the wild animals and the devices being used to get the job done.

Other residents in the hills above the lagoon as well as a reserve naturalist oppose the traps, saying the 2 dozen or so coyotes living in the reserve are an important part of the natural ecosystem that predates the dawn of suburbia.

San Elijo Hills resident Robert Melvin called the traps a violent, indiscriminate response to a trumped-up problem.

“Remember, these coyotes were here first, and we’re jumping into their territory, not the other way around,” he said. “People buying homes around any wildlife area should know coming in that wild animals live there. And, just because a few have been startled by a coyote, that’s no reason to start an onslaught.”

Government officials have told homeowners’ groups that up to half a dozen animals will be taken in the program to discourage hungry coyotes from wandering outside the lagoon. They also hope to dispose of several sick animals that reportedly suffer from a fur mange, a skin disease that is contagious for domestic pets.

The traps so far have caught one apparently healthy animal, which the trappers killed afterward. The body will be tested for sign of mange, trappers added. However, they concede it is possible that none of the animals caught will end up being the ones with mange or the ones prowling local back yards.

The trapping, begun last month but halted recently by bad weather and damage to at least one trap, already has Solana Beach city officials consulting attorneys over their liability in case a human is injured by a hidden trap.

The traps inspire heated outbursts from neighbors in favor of them. They claim that their property rights come before those of wild animals. Others say the padded steel traps are “absolutely barbaric” and could injure other animals or even a stray child.

But Jeannie Hansen says the coyotes pose more danger to humans than any trap. She has her own close scrape with one animal to back her up. And she points out that coyotes have struck children in the past, including a 3-year-old who was mauled to death in Los Angeles County in 1981.

“I am not some wild-eyed crusader,” she said. “But I’ll go to battle with those animal rights people because I believe in human rights. Losing a child to a coyote is a terrible accident just waiting to happen here, and I just think that saving one child is worth three coyotes or 10 coyotes.

“And as a homeowner, I think I have the right to have a pet without stationing armed guards or an electric fence around my yard.”

Trapping opponents say there is little proof that the coyotes killed any of the 30 to 45 pets that reportedly died in a square-mile area since December.

They say the federal government was summoned in the first place by a few neighbors who overreacted and persuaded their homeowners’ association boards to vote on the matter without consulting the community as a whole.

Since such traps are banned from the lagoon itself, the destructive steel traps have been placed in the thick brush nearby on private homeowners’ association property with approval granted from association boards, not individual homeowners.

That has brought threats of lawsuit from residents who say animals cannot be trapped on the property without their specific permission. Repeated calls to board presidents only bring an answer that the matter is closed, they say.

“I pay taxes, lots of taxes, and I didn’t even have a say in this matter before they they decided to set the traps on property owned by the homeowners’ association,” said Susan Woltz, a San Elijo Hills resident.

Woltz says she has often come across coyotes while jogging around the lagoon. Rather than acting aggressive, the animals have always skittered off into the brush, she said.

“I like the charm of the rural animal population we have here around the lagoon,” she said. “I like coyotes. They’re part of the lagoon ecosystem, and I think it’s a crime to kill them.”

For homeowner Robert Melvin, the worst aspect is that the traps also kill other animals.

“They’re animal death traps,” he said. “That means foxes, raccoons, possums, bobcats, hawks, owls, mountain lions, crows, ravens, geese, ducks and anything unlucky enough to get caught in their grip.

“There’s been no bitings. No attacks. No threats. No snarlings. Just a few people startled. Well, you can get startled by a hummingbird. Should we start killing them, too?”

David Moreno, an Agriculture Department wildlife biologist supervising the trapping program, acknowledged that the traps have raised hackles.

“Not everyone is in agreement with what we’re doing, I’m aware of that,” he said. “But we are mandated by Congress to do the job of wildlife management. Sometimes, managing an animal population means reducing it.”

Moreno, a tall, mustached New Mexican who dresses in blue jeans and cowboy boots, said the federal government has for years contracted with the county to remove dangerous animals.

He called the traps “a last resort” in very real health and safety issues. Underfed coyotes are perfectly capable of attacking people, he said, and sick animals can spread mange to pets.

Moreno said he was asked to investigate the domestic animal deaths earlier this year. He soon concluded that the usual methods of control--asking people to feed their pets indoors and keep them from wandering--would not work in this case, especially since several animals had jumped back-yard fences looking for easy kills.

After being set in mid-February, he said, the traps were pulled 10 days later because of wet weather and the tampering with and disappearance of at least one trap. Although he wouldn’t accuse miffed homeowners of the damage, he warned that tampering with a government trap is a federal offense.

The program involves six weight-sensitive traps--scented with coyote urine and specially set to spring only for animals of a coyote’s girth--being laid in the dense underground frequented by the animals. The areas were well marked with warning signs, he said.

“I just want to get the few coyotes who are causing the problems,” he said, when asked if the traps could be considered a danger to children. “I guess the kids could be a problem. I just hope they’re not out there in the brush at midnight.”

In response to animal rights activists’ claims that the padded steel leg-hold trap is a cruel and outmoded method of trapping animals, Moreno said the newer traps are a far cry from the old ferocious steel-jawed traps.

And, although federal laws require only that traps be checked every 24 hours, Moreno said his crew has checked the traps every 12 hours.

“It’s possible that an animal could hurt itself trying to free itself of these traps, but that’s only if left for 60 hours or more,” he said. “We don’t let that happen.”

But Lila Brooks, an animal rights protagonist and director of the Hollywood-based California Wildlife Defenders, said animals have chewed off limbs and have broken and swallowed teeth in panicked attempts to extricate themselves. Many communities in California have outlawed the traps in favor of what she said were more humane box traps.

“Would you like to be caught in a steel-jawed trap, breaking your teeth and ripping your ligaments for 12 hours?” Brooks said.

Scientists say development has diminished North County’s coyote population and chased much of the rest out of out of brushland westward through creeks and valleys, to the relative safety of the lagoon, a protected animal habitat.

The added stress of trapping could further pare coyote reproduction, although coyotes are far from an endangered species, they said. Wild coyotes, which grow to 4 feet long and look like mid-size dogs, normally reach 8 years of age and produce one litter each year.

Robert Patton, a park ranger-biologist at the San Elijo Ecological Reserve--which is co-managed by the county and state of California--said officials were unhappy about the trapping because of the integral role coyotes play in the local ecosystem.

Studies show that lowering the coyote population prompts a rise in the numbers of raccoons, squirrels and mice that prey on the eggs of endangered bird species. “They’re a big check in nature’s checks-and-balances system,” he said.

Patton said state and county officials agreed to the trapping on the condition that none be done within the lagoon and that the take be limited to five coyotes.

Solana Beach City Manager Michael Huse worries that the city could be held liable if a human is injured by the traps.

“We see both sides of the story,” he said. “Still, the way these things have been described to me, I wouldn’t want them anywhere near my house.”

Moreno said he would consult with homeowners before the trapping is restarted.

“Listen, I care about wildlife--that’s why I’m in this business. But these animals can be very aggressive. It’s just an intolerable wildlife situation, these coyotes eating people’s pets.”

Meanwhile, although they mourn the deaths of their cats and dogs, Solana Beach homeowners say they will win against the wild animals.

“These coyotes should stay in the lagoon--that’s their habitat,” said Mike Bonde, president of the Santa Fe Hills Homeowners’ Assn. “But, when they start wandering the streets, spreading disease and killing off our pets, that’s where we draw the line.”