Hearing on Coyote Trap Ban Turns Emotional : Wildlife: Meeting draws residents, animal-rights activists in wake of increased sightings in West Valley. A decision is expected later this month.

A meeting of the city’s Board of Animal Regulation Commissioners turned into an emotional two-hour debate Monday about the pros and cons of a 6-month-old ban on coyote trapping.

The hearing in downtown Los Angeles attracted about 40 residents and animal-rights activists, mostly from the San Fernando Valley, and became so highly charged that several speakers came close to tears. One man was escorted away by security officers after he accused an animal regulation officer of wrongdoing for shooting a coyote last month.

“My 3-year-old baby was murdered by a coyote,” Marilyn Grasshoff, who lives in the Studio City hills, said as she choked back tears. As some audience members gasped, she explained that her “baby” actually was her pet poodle that was killed several months ago by a coyote near her home.

In June, the Board of Animal Regulation Commissioners voted to ban coyote trapping by city employees, partly in response to pressure from animal-rights activists but also because of the $100,000 annual cost of the trapping program.

Since then, increased coyote sightings, particularly in the hillside neighborhoods of the West Valley, have prompted the board to consider reviewing that decision. Animal regulation officers attribute the increase in sightings to the abundance of food and small wildlife, the trapping ban and the recent wildfires that drove coyotes into urban areas.

Although the board took no action during Monday’s meeting, it announced a follow-up meeting on Jan. 24 at the West Valley Senior Citizen’s Center, 18255 Victory Blvd. in Reseda at 7 p.m. Mimi Robins, president of the board, said the board probably will decide at that time whether to continue the ban.

The issue grew more controversial last month when an animal regulation officer shot and killed a coyote that appeared to be stalking a small dog in Woodland Hills.

Lt. Richard Felosky and another officer were responding to a complaint of coyotes stalking a small child in a Woodland Hills back yard when they saw two coyotes stalk a small dog, according to Animal Regulation spokeswoman Nancy Moriarty. Felosky shot once and killed the coyote, she said.

Since the ban began, the city’s Animal Regulation Department has been working on several programs to educate residents about coyotes and coexisting with the animals without trapping, said Gary S. Olsen, the department’s general manager.

For example, Olsen said the department has been drafting informational brochures to remind residents to keep pets indoors at night, secure lids on garbage cans and not to leave pet food outdoors.

For those residents who want to trap and kill a coyote that is causing problems, Olsen said the department can provide referrals of licensed pest-control firms. The ban extends only to city employees.

Several speakers offered alternatives to trapping and killing coyotes. Some suggested the city pass laws--similar to those adopted in other cities--to forbid residents from leaving dog food outside and leaving trash cans without secured lids.

Stuart R. Ellins, a professor of psychology at Cal State San Bernardino, suggested the city consider feeding coyotes food laced with lithium chloride, a nontoxic salt, to make the animals sick and discourage them from returning to a neighborhood.

He said his idea, called food aversion therapy, was tried successfully in Riverside. To prove his theory, Ellins showed the board a videotape of coyotes and wolves feeding on sheep and rabbits before and after eating meat laced with lithium chloride. After eating the mineral, the coyotes and wolves did not attack the prey.

But much of the two-hour hearing was spent debating the merits of the coyote trapping ban.

Norma Sandler, director of the Wildlife Protection League, suggested the city provide water for coyotes on hillsides so that thirst doesn’t drive them into residential areas.

“We have so many alternatives to getting hysterical and killing animals,” she said.

Bill Dyer of Venice was escorted away from the podium when he demanded loudly that the city investigate the shooting of the coyote last month. “When we start killing animals, we admit our failure to solve a problem,” he said.

But several Valley hillside residents disagreed, saying the city has an obligation to trap coyotes that are causing problems.

Michael Lazarou, the father of the 19-month-old boy who was allegedly stalked by a coyote in Woodland Hills last month, said neighborhoods will begin to look like “concentration camps” if the coyote problem forces all homeowners to erect tall fences to keep the animals from preying on pets and children.

Richard Olsen of Studio City echoed those sentiments. “All this love is going for the coyotes,” he said. “What about the pets that people have? Where is the love for them?”