The day of reckoning has finally come for Seal Beach’s wily coyotes.
In a unanimous vote Monday, the city council approved a sweeping coyote trapping and euthanasia plan, heeding the recommendations of a special community task force assembled in the wake of numerous attacks on residents’ pets.
Many of those owners showed up at the city council meeting on Monday to express their grief and concern.
“When I turned around, the coyote had her in his mouth and he was running out the door,” said Vicki Young, recalling the death of her beloved, 10-year-old Brussels griffon. “She died,” Young lamented. “He ate her.”
The concern is not limited to family pets either. Residents say the canines have become increasingly aggressive to the point of attacking humans.
Animal rights advocates expressed horror at the council’s decision. But city officials say they have little choice in the way of transferring the coyotes, since state law forbids them from being relocated more than 50 yards.
"I think the state has been in our way a lot on this," Mayor Ellery Deaton said.
In addition to trapping and killing the predators, the task force recommended that the city clean up overgrown areas that attract coyotes, mandate that all trash cans be covered, and fine individuals who feed the animals.
Seal Beach is just one of many communities which have witnessed a rise in coyote activity as of late. Some experts have placed the blame on the state’s ongoing drought, which has pushed wildlife into urban areas in search of water. As the animals’ desperation increases, they say, so too does their aggression.
Read more about Monday’s vote here.