Meeting on Coyote Issue Rescheduled

A canceled meeting of the Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation to discuss the city’s ban on coyote trapping has been rescheduled for March 23, officials said Tuesday.

The meeting of the department’s board of commissioners will substitute for a Jan. 23 meeting that was canceled because the gathering site was damaged during the Jan. 17 Northridge quake.

The rescheduled meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Parkman Middle School, 20800 Burbank Blvd., Woodland Hills.

The commissioners will listen to public comments before deciding whether to continue the eight-month ban on coyote trapping.

Since the Animal Regulation Commission voted in June to ban coyote trapping by city employees, residents in the West Valley have reported an increase in coyote sightings, particularly in hillside neighborhoods.

The increased sightings, according to animal regulation officers, are due in part to the end of trapping, the abundance of small rodents and other food for coyotes, and last year’s brush fires that drove some coyotes into residential areas.

Several residents have protested the ban, saying it leaves pets and small children vulnerable to coyote attacks.