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View Winners → Coyote Controversy Continues to Kindle Arcadia Community
Arcadia Weekly Jul 10, 2017
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The City of Arcadia settled the Coyote trapping lawsuit. – Courtesy photo
Local resident upset to hear City of Arcadia was forced into litigation
By Terry Miller
A Duarte area resident contacted this newspaper regarding the story we ran last week about the City of Arcadia settling with PETA for $15,000 to cover legal fees incurred over the fight to stop coyote trapping before it was implemented.
Steven Childs said he felt the story (page one Arcadia Weekly, July 6) was one-sided and didn’t address the real issues. He also condemned animal rights groups as well as the Pasadena Humane Society.
Childs said he was “…sorry to hear the city Arcadia was forced into litigation by animal rights extremist group PETA. Arcadia likely found it less expensive and time consuming to pay off PETA instead of taking this to court. This is a common tactic used by these groups called sue and settle. Look it up to see how many environmentalist groups do this. PETA has only succeeded in taking away taxpayer monies needed for personal and public safety and stuffed their pockets with it.”
Childs went on to say that Pasadena Humane Society was “the group paid by Arcadia to provide coyote education services and have been doing so for years. This group offers reasonable but unrealistic advice. It’s not a surprise when you understand canid biologists are rarely asked to provide input on their wildlife plans. PHS relies on information provided by the ASPCA and The Humane Society of the U.S. Both of these groups provide information from biologists and ecologists with degrees but they never consult with actual canid biologists who are experts on the matter.”
Ricky Whitman from Pasadena Humane Society said: “The Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA continues to provide the City of Arcadia with domestic animal care and control. We do not have the legal authority to handle wildlife situations and will not respond where we do not have jurisdiction. However the Pasadena Humane Society will always respond to calls for help with aggressive, injured or sick wildlife. We acted in an advisory capacity with the development of the City’s Coyote Management Plan and we continue to offer many options for residents that include training classes and education classes for adults and children. When requested, our animal control officers will assess property for coyote attractants and advise the property owner. The Pasadena Humane Society is a private, non-profit organization and not affiliated with PETA. PHS looks forward to providing the City of Arcadia with support for its animal related needs.”
Childs maintains that animal rights groups’ assertions that coyotes self-regulate “is totally false.”
Coyote populations have always been controlled by food, water and quality of habitat. Picking up fruit, birdseed or bringing in pet food is fine but is unrealistic and does nothing to remove enough attractants to make suburbia unattractive to coyotes, Childs notes.
“Considering the coyote carrying capacity for the sparse area between Barstow and Las Vegas averages one coyote per square mile, their ideas are unrealistic and fail to address the fact coyote populations will continue to grow despite their well-intentioned claims. Several canid biologists feel it’s the intense competition for resources which drives the coyote to change its behavior. Eventually coyotes figure out the people yelling, shouting, and shaking cans of pennies are not a threat. “
Childs continues saying that “This obstructionist view by animal rights groups does nothing to address the increasing problem of urban coyotes and the public safely threat aggressive coyotes pose. This lawsuit will only embolden animal rights groups uninformed supporters while lining their pockets at Arcadia taxpayers’ expense. Shame on PETA, Pasadena Humane Society and Project Coyote. I certainly hope Arcadia follows up and applies for a CEQA exemption. After all, leaders do what is right, not what is popular.”
Randall Massar, Union Members for the Preservation of Wildlife had this to say in an email last week when we request comment on the settlement:
“I’m sure this issue isn’t going away any time soon as I was told that PETA with the money, the manpower and the lawyers they went after Dan Fox and animal pest management services by suing them for not having the permit for sodium pentothal to inject and kill the coyotes, however there are other ways that are legal like gassing them, and shooting them , but I feel that PETA did the right thing, this throws a monkey wrench into the trapping of the coyotes that the former mayor so much desired along with his cronies on the board. I feel it is going to take some changes in legislation and change some laws to stop the coyote trapping and killing once and for all and i don’t see that happening any time soon.As for the adoption of the humane society plan—I’m glad as it’s a good plan, not perfect by any means, and it’s a start in the right direction, but for how long will this plan last before someone cries wolf again? In relation to the coyotes, wolves are their enemy, however they are now mating back east which is interesting.”
