Camilla Fox and PROJECT COYOTE score a big win for Coyote/Human co-existance...............My home of Calabasas, California has now permanently banned the killing and trapping of Coyotes............Camilla Fox, Exec. Dir. of Project Coyote worked around the clock with Calabasas Mayor Pro Tem, Mary Sue Maurer and Project Coyote member Randi Feilich Hirsch to educate and explain the "positives" to Calabasas residents about the benefits to the land, people and coyotes that co-existance rather than killing brings about..Way to go guys!

Victory! California City Unanimously Votes to End Coyote Trapping

byStephanie Feldstein·

The city of Calabasas, California, in Los Angeles County, prides itself on being an environmentally-conscious community. So when resident Randi Feilich Hirsch pointed out that the city's contract with Los Angeles County to trap and kill coyotes was not only inhumane but threatened to upset the ecological balance of the area, officials took notice. City council suspended all coyote trapping to review the issue.

That was back in July. Now, three months later, Calabasas City Council has made the ban on coyote trapping permanent and adopted a model plan for coexistence.

Feilich Hirsch wasn't alone in this battle. As the Southern California Representative for Project Coyote, she had the organization and its expertise behind her. Project Coyote, working with the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), started a campaign on Change.org to build public support for ending the city's coyote killing policy. By the time city council voted, the groups had more than 9,000 people backing them up.

Randi Feilich Hirsch and Camilla Fox, executive director of the California-based Project Coyote and wildlife consultant with AWI, worked with city officials to strengthen the new management plan and shift the focus from killing to emphasize long-term education, reduction of wildlife attractants, and implementing hazing for habituated coyotes. The city was already using Project Coyote's educational resources and airing its film American Coyote: Still Wild at Heart weekly on its public access TV station.

Fox commended the city on the final plan, developed with the help of Project Coyote and the Animal Welfare Institute. "We believe this is one of the best coyote coexistence plans out there and we look forward to working with the city, the National Park Service and other agencies in assisting in public education."

The coexistence plan was unanimously recommended by the city's Environment Commission, and City Council took up the issue on October 12. Fox delivered the 9,000 petition signatures and presented testimony on behalf of Project Coyote and AWI at the public hearing prior to the council's decision.

That night, the city council unanimously voted to prohibit any city funds from being spent on coyote trapping and to instead adopt the coyote management plan that shifts the focus from killing to coexistence.

Calabasas Mayor Pro Tem, Mary Sue Maurer, who enthusiastically supported Project Coyote's proposed changes to the city's draft coyote coexistence plan, said, "With the expertise of Project Coyote, the Animal Welfare Institute and the National Parks Service, Calabasas residents and coyotes will mutually benefit and live more harmoniously together. I encourage all Californians that live alongside coyotes to learn more about these wondrous creatures and how we coexist together." "It really shows that concerned citizens can speak up at the local level and make changes in city policy," said Feilich Hirsch, Calabasas resident and Project Coyote's Southern California representative. "We are optimistic that local residents will embrace this plan and become actively involved in coexisting with our wildlife neighbors."