Government
New Coyote Policy to Educate Citizens of Hazing, Not Feeding Animals
The City Council drafted a coyote policy to educate residents about hazing and not feeding coyotes in Wheaton. The City Councilof Wheaton, Illinois will draft a new coyote policy, focused on educating residents about hazing and not feeding coyotes to limit negative interactions.
Assistant City Manager Michael Dzugan presented his draft of the coyote policy in the City Council planning session yesterday, Monday, Nov. 8. The policy was in response to last winter's high reporting of coyote sightings, including the killing of a family dog.
"I must have gotten over 100 emails about this when this was the topic in town last winter," Mayor Michael Gresk said. "It's not going away. This is a situation that needs to be addressed. We deal with health and safety issues."
Dzugan estimates the policy will initially cost $10,000 to $15,000 for a trapper, education materials, postcards in high reporting areas and anti-feeding signs at various open areas. After initial phases, Dzugan said he hopes the program will cost $5,000 to $10,000 annually.
Dzugan said coyotes adapt very well to urban habitats and have been habituated to interact positively with humans.
This habituation has led coyotes to lose their fear of humans, thus allowing them to attack animals and remain in close proximity of humans.
Camilla Fox, wildlife consultant with the Animal Welfare Institute and founding Executive Director of Project Coyote, a national non-profit organization, helped Gresk and the city council with research for a new coyote policy.Habituation of coyotes is a problem that needs to be addressed, Fox said, and Dzugan said intentional feeding has to be broken."A fed coyote is a dead coyote," Fox said. "People need to be aware of how their actions and behaviors can affect coyote behavior both positively and negatively."The City Council addressed this problem with new ordinances. Established earlier this year, Section 14-102 of the Wheaton City Code prohibits intentional coyote feeding. Known violators will be fined $900 to $1,400.The City will hire a trapper to track coyotes to see where the intentional feeders are, Dzugan said. The new policy would encourage aggressively hazing the animals to re-establish fear."Normal hazing is pots and pans, yelling, screaming, waving your arms at the coyote for it to move along," Dzugan said. "Aggressive hazing actually could allow shooting paintballs at the coyotes or in their general direction."Police and trained volunteers will administer the more aggressive hazing, the policy stated.
The killing of coyotes will be a last resort. Gresk said the council hired a trapper for $4,000 to $5,000 last winter after coyotes were spotted at Whittier and Wiesbrook Elementary Schools. He said four or five coyotes were killed last winter.Paula McGowen of unincorporated Glen Ellyn said she is happy that Wheaton is setting up a program to address the coyote issue.She said she likes the amount of research that was done and feels this policy puts more controls on the trappers."A trapper is out there to make money," McGowen said. "He might say that a coyote is sick, but mange is a treatable illness. You don't shoot your dog because he has fleas. You treat him."
Dzugan said a vacant CSO position already budgeted ($37,567) in the police department could be utilized to lead the community coyote effort. The CSO could train volunteers and do more concise and thorough coyote sighting reports to obtain accurate data.
The educational program would also address mange, a disease coyotes receive from a mite. Mange is a treatable sickness and not like rabies, but a coyote could look threatening because of hair loss and wounds form scratching.
"About 60 to 65 percent of calls to the city are a sickly looking coyote," Dzugan said.
Gresk said coyotes are wonderful animals who mates for life in a pack of four or five and help maintain the ecosystem."We have too many rabbits and ground squirrels," Gresk said. "They are part of the ecosystem in that their presence will keep that down."
"I shared extensive information with Mayor Gresk on how our organization has helped other towns and municipalities on the urban coyote issue," Fox said. "I also worked with a number of residents who are seeking to shift the way coyotes are treated in Wheaton to recognize their ecological role and is focused on implementation of long-term coexistent policy."
"We have to live with them because they were here before us," McGowen said.Fox said hazing and other aversive conditioning policies have been adopted in other municipalities as part of their coexistence policies— including Denver, Los Angeles and Vancouver.
Public comments on the policy will be welcome during the Nov. 15 City Council meeting. Before the next meeting, Gresk said comments from email or postal mail will be welcome.
"I must have gotten over 100 emails about this when this was the topic in town last winter," Mayor Michael Gresk said. "It's not going away. This is a situation that needs to be addressed. We deal with health and safety issues."
Dzugan estimates the policy will initially cost $10,000 to $15,000 for a trapper, education materials, postcards in high reporting areas and anti-feeding signs at various open areas. After initial phases, Dzugan said he hopes the program will cost $5,000 to $10,000 annually.
Dzugan said coyotes adapt very well to urban habitats and have been habituated to interact positively with humans.
This habituation has led coyotes to lose their fear of humans, thus allowing them to attack animals and remain in close proximity of humans.
Camilla Fox, wildlife consultant with the Animal Welfare Institute and founding Executive Director of Project Coyote, a national non-profit organization, helped Gresk and the city council with research for a new coyote policy.Habituation of coyotes is a problem that needs to be addressed, Fox said, and Dzugan said intentional feeding has to be broken."A fed coyote is a dead coyote," Fox said. "People need to be aware of how their actions and behaviors can affect coyote behavior both positively and negatively."The City Council addressed this problem with new ordinances. Established earlier this year, Section 14-102 of the Wheaton City Code prohibits intentional coyote feeding. Known violators will be fined $900 to $1,400.The City will hire a trapper to track coyotes to see where the intentional feeders are, Dzugan said. The new policy would encourage aggressively hazing the animals to re-establish fear."Normal hazing is pots and pans, yelling, screaming, waving your arms at the coyote for it to move along," Dzugan said. "Aggressive hazing actually could allow shooting paintballs at the coyotes or in their general direction."Police and trained volunteers will administer the more aggressive hazing, the policy stated.
The killing of coyotes will be a last resort. Gresk said the council hired a trapper for $4,000 to $5,000 last winter after coyotes were spotted at Whittier and Wiesbrook Elementary Schools. He said four or five coyotes were killed last winter.Paula McGowen of unincorporated Glen Ellyn said she is happy that Wheaton is setting up a program to address the coyote issue.She said she likes the amount of research that was done and feels this policy puts more controls on the trappers."A trapper is out there to make money," McGowen said. "He might say that a coyote is sick, but mange is a treatable illness. You don't shoot your dog because he has fleas. You treat him."
Dzugan said a vacant CSO position already budgeted ($37,567) in the police department could be utilized to lead the community coyote effort. The CSO could train volunteers and do more concise and thorough coyote sighting reports to obtain accurate data.
The educational program would also address mange, a disease coyotes receive from a mite. Mange is a treatable sickness and not like rabies, but a coyote could look threatening because of hair loss and wounds form scratching.
"About 60 to 65 percent of calls to the city are a sickly looking coyote," Dzugan said.
Gresk said coyotes are wonderful animals who mates for life in a pack of four or five and help maintain the ecosystem."We have too many rabbits and ground squirrels," Gresk said. "They are part of the ecosystem in that their presence will keep that down."
"I shared extensive information with Mayor Gresk on how our organization has helped other towns and municipalities on the urban coyote issue," Fox said. "I also worked with a number of residents who are seeking to shift the way coyotes are treated in Wheaton to recognize their ecological role and is focused on implementation of long-term coexistent policy."
"We have to live with them because they were here before us," McGowen said.Fox said hazing and other aversive conditioning policies have been adopted in other municipalities as part of their coexistence policies— including Denver, Los Angeles and Vancouver.
Public comments on the policy will be welcome during the Nov. 15 City Council meeting. Before the next meeting, Gresk said comments from email or postal mail will be welcome.
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