California has a policy of not trapping Coyotes unless they prove to be a threat to humans,,,,but Calif will let citizens hire private trappers to kill Coyotes if the residents feel that Coyotes are a "threat"...........Even though up to a dozen small dogs and cats have been reported killed in west Anaheim, they are considered "small prey" and that's "normal behavior for a coyote," Drabek said. We recommend that pet owners keep their pets inside, especially during early morning and evening hours when coyotes tend to hunt for food"--Ryan Drabek, Dir. of Orange Cty, Calif Animal care................"The worst thing people can do is catch one or two coyotes and think that they are gone for good, then go back to their old ways (of leaving food, water and pets outside)"............ "They have to know: The coyotes are here to stay."--Kevin Brennan, Calif Dept of Game

Is killing coyotes cruel or effective?

A wildlife expert says the most-effective way of keeping them at bay is prevention, but the state allows trapping of aggressive coyotes.

• 

By ERIC CARPENTER

ANAHEIM – Why do the coyotes have to be killed?
Is it even effective?

Deterring coyotes

•Remove sources of water
•Bring pets in at night, and do not leave pet food
outside
•Put away bird feeders at night to avoid attracting
rodents
•Pick up fallen fruit and cover compost piles
•Ask your neighbors to follow these tips
•Information: keepmewild.org
Source: California Department of Fish and Game

Residents in west Anaheim have paid a private trapper more than $300 to set up traps in nurseries near Dale Street and Stonybrook Avenue. Earlier this month, the traps got their first catch – an adult coyote. It was quickly retrieved from a cage inside Stonybrook Nursery by OC Animal Care and, later, euthanized.
That was a relief to dozens of residents concerned about a rash of coyote attacks, responsible for up to a dozen missing or dead small dogs and cats. But animal-rights activists decried the capture and killing as cruel and ineffective.

"Some of us don't want to see the coyotes trapped – and definitely not killed," said Diana Torres, 47, whose home is near a nursery where coyotes have been spotted. "One, we like that the coyotes keep rats and other pests away. And two, it's just cruel."

Kevin Brennan, a state Department of Fish and Game spokesman, said that his agency doesn't trap coyotes and recommends that residents keep pets, food and water inside and cut back brush where coyotes could take shelter. But Fish and Game doesn't prevent residents who say the coyotes are a nuisance from trapping them.

Ryan Drabek, director of OC Animal Care, said his department doesn't typically get involved with coyotes unless one bites a human, which is highly unusual: "We only get involved if there's a report of a coyote that's extremely ill or has bitten somebody."

Even though up to a dozen small dogs and cats have been reported killed in west Anaheim, they are considered "small prey" and that's "normal behavior for a coyote," Drabek said. We recommend that pet owners keep their pets inside, especially during early morning and evening hours when coyotes tend to hunt for food," Drabek added.

Animal Control euthanized the captured coyote Sept. 10 only because nursery owners reported that it was trapped and appeared "highly agitated" – and the trapper couldn't immediately respond, Drabek said. Typically, the trapper would be responsible for euthanizing it. The coyote was killed using a lethal injection, which is the most humane way to euthanize, Drabek said.

Lynda Gendreau, a resident who led the effort to hire the trapper, said she would have preferred that any captured coyote be relocated. Brennan, a wildlife biologist, said state law strictly prohibits relocating wildlife: "It's a form of animal abandonment and the animals can't survive," typically dying within days, from starvation or from becoming prey for other animals.

It's fine to trap and kill "offending coyotes" that have attacked and killed small pets, Brennan said. But more coyotes live in urban areas than in rural areas, so residents shouldn't expect to see coyotes disappear entirely from their neighborhoods.

The worst thing people can do is catch one or two coyotes and think that they are gone for good, then go back to their old ways (of leaving food, water and pets outside)," Brennan said. "They have to know: The coyotes are here to stay."