Meeting Called Over Increasing Coyote Threat

Responding to increased coyote sightings in the west San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles Councilwoman Laura Chick plans a community meeting Monday in Woodland Hills to address concerns about coyotes.

Also attending the meeting will be coyote experts from the city’s Department of Animal Regulation to answer residents’ questions on how to protect children and pets from the animals.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at El Camino Real High School, 5440 Valley Circle Blvd.

Animal experts say the increased coyote sightings are partially due to the end of city trappings and a general increase in the animal population. Coyotes became the topic of heated debate in June when the city’s Board of Commissioners of the Department of Animal Regulations voted--at the urging of wildlife activists--to ban all coyote trapping by its employees.

In the 12-month period ending in June, the city received more than 500 requests from residents for coyote trapping services. At the same time, there were 218 reported attacks on pets in the city.

Some residents--mostly those who dwell in rural canyon areas of the city--complained that the commission’s action left them and their pets vulnerable to coyote attacks.

But department officials said common sense precautions will minimize coyote problems, such as never feeding coyotes, covering trash bins, fencing yards on brushy slopes and keeping small pets inside at night.