I was very disappointed by the front-page article in this week’s SUN about local coyote concerns. (See “Feeding wildlife is illegal,” at sunnews.org, published Thursday, Sept. 28.)
It seems to center on the legality of feeding wildlife, but I don’t know of any literate coyotes. They don’t know or care about our laws! The problem is the residents or visitors who think it’s fun or kind to leave pet food outside or offer “easy pickings.” Let the coyotes eat their natural prey—rabbits or mice—and make it impossible for them to plunder trash cans. Everyone should be responsible in these ways … urban coyotes are not your “friends” who visit and give you a nice story to share. Leave them alone to live their lives and keep your distance, keep pets inside or on a leash. I’ve seen coyotes on the sidewalks, on the beach, and in parks and on the green belt in daylight hours – they live here and will continue to thrive if we encourage them directly or indirectly. They are not dogs; they will kill cats if they can.
Instead of writing a fairly useless article, why not post BIG clear signs all over Seal Beach: “Do not feed coyotes—they will associate people and houses with food and become even bolder and a nuisance, then a danger to pets and people. Ultimately, they may be killed for this. Do you want to be the cause?” Forget the soft sell of “educating” people and give them the bottom line—it’s not a healthy relationship between people and urban wildlife when the end result may well be sacrificing coyote lives when the inevitable outcry comes that the so-called wild animals are damaging our property and pets’ lives.
Thank you for printing the truth about our local coyotes.
Lois Sheppard