The County's Coyote Trapping Program

After county officials revealed last week that by the county Weed Hazard and Pest Management Bureau some have asked about the details of the program and what circumstances qualify for a coyote to be killed by the county.

To get the answers Patch spoke with Raymond Smith, a biologist with the department who appeared at the Altadena Town Council last week.

Here are some of the details about the program, as described by Smith

• The department does not have a contract with a trapper, but rather utilizes department labor when a coyote needs to be trapped.
• The circumstances that lead to the targeting of a coyote have to do with the possibility of them posing a direct hazard to humans, which is not usually the case, Smith said.  In the case of the seven coyotes killed in Altadena, a large number of reported pet killings during the day-time, including some where pets on leash with humans were killed, led the department to conclude the coyotes were getting too aggressive, Smith said.  In addition, Smith added, the county received complaints of coyotes breaking into fenced yards, and in one case, a woman (who also emailed and commented on a previous Altadena Patch story) said she had been chased by coyotes.
• There are not hearings or a particular procedure to determine when to kill a coyote, but as the department employs about 250 biologists, the decision is always made by or with the approval of a biologist, Smith said.
• The coyotes that were killed in Altadena were primarily part of two packs, one near the Altadena Golf Course, and one in the far northwest corner of town.
• This year was "really bad in Altadena" and not a typical year for the town, Smith said.  The local population was likely so strong because of a wet winter, he added.
• Smith said he could not recall exactly when the last time was that the department killed coyotes in Altadena, but he believes that none of them were killed last summer.
• Smith emphasized that the coyote populations benefit from local human populations and said people should resist thinking it is somehow "natural" for coyotes to roam in neighborhoods targeting local pets.  Human incursion into coyote population has only benefited the species, making it more common in the area, Smith said.
• The county uses snares to trap the coyotes, and sometimes shoots them.  The county does not use leg traps to catch them, though they have been used in the past, Smith said. 

Lastly, Smith emphasized that the department absolutely does not view its role as acting as a population control for coyotes.  He said that the department spends much more time trying to educate the public on coyotes than trapping them.

"Every hour that we spend placing a trap we probably expend 100 hours talking to people and telling them it is normal too see coyotes at 10 at night, or that is normal to hear them," Smith said.