Dept. of Animal Regulation

An ordinance to ban the use of steel-jawed leghold traps is before the Los Angeles City Council now. Final hearing will be on April 1. All such matters have to be scrutinized in committee first before the members of the City Council vote on it.

Many cities have banned the use of leghold traps, and the impact statements we have submitted to the committee, written by city officials, state that the trap ban of many years has caused no adverse effects. There must be something wrong with the system and management of the Department of Animal Regulations if other cities and counties can function without the use of leghold traps and Los Angeles is not capable of doing the same.

The ordinance we have prepared and put before the City Council is reasonable and we consider it a compromise. We did not request that the trapping of coyotes be discontinued altogether, although we are convinced that coyotes are an integral part of the ecosystem and perform an important function in the food chain. (We ask) that coyotes be captured in humane cage traps and not be tortured in leghold traps before the trapper shoots the defenseless animals at point-blank range.

LILA BROOKS, Director, California Wildlife Defenders, Hollywood