Coyote Sightings Prompt Call for Trapping : Wildlife: Councilwoman Laura Chick seeks ‘emergency steps’ in wake of complaints about animals’ attacks on small pets near a West Hills school.

Responding to complaints that coyotes have been sighted near a West Hills elementary school, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick has asked animal regulation officials to depart from standard policy and begin trapping in the neighborhood.

Chick was instrumental in formulating the city’s policy adopted last year that allows for trapping only as a last resort, after residents have tried all other deterrents, such as installing fences and keeping pets and pet food indoors.

But in a letter to residents who have complained about recent coyote sightings, Chick said a recent rash of attacks on small pets and the sighting of coyotes near Justice Street Elementary School calls for “emergency steps.”

“While I support the city’s new coyote trapping policy, I also believe that we have an emergency situation with coyotes in the West Valley,” she said.

Chick added that her concerns were heightened by a coyote attack on a 15-month-old girl in Griffith Park three months ago. The girl suffered several bite wounds but no permanent physical injuries.

But Animal Regulation Department officials said they are not prepared to act on Chick’s proposal immediately.

Gary Olsen, general manager of the Animal Regulation Department, acknowledged that there is a coyote problem in the West Valley but said he and his officers don’t believe trapping will help and are instead educating residents on how to protect pets and children.

Under the policy, animal regulation officers will charge residents $200 plus a $100 refundable deposit to set a box trap but only after property owners have met a series of conditions, such as erecting fences and keeping small pets indoors at night. Once trapped, the coyotes are euthanized.

In addition, Olsen said many of the complaints are about coyote sightings on city streets. The city cannot set traps on streets and traps set outside residences may not eliminate the problem, he said.

“So far our investigation has not found the necessity to trap,” he said.

Nonetheless, Olsen said he will continue to meet with Chick’s staff to try to find a solution to the problem.

Residents say they believe a pack of coyotes lives on a largely undeveloped hill near the intersection of Woodlake Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard and enters adjoining neighborhoods by traveling along the nearby concrete wash.

Despite coyote sightings by neighbors, Justice Street School Principal Phil Shaffer said none of the children at the school have reported seeing coyotes and only a few parents have raised concerns about it.

Although the school abuts the wash, Shaffer said the school’s playground is encircled by a fence, making it difficult for any coyotes to enter. “A coyote would have to have a hall pass to get in,” he joked.

However, he said he plans to warn parents about coyote sightings in the school’s next parent bulletin.

Eric Rose, Chick’s field deputy, agrees that children are safe from coyotes at the school but may be threatened when they walk to and from school.

“We believe the kids are safe when they are at school, but there are children who walk to and from the school who are threatened by the coyotes,” he said. “We can’t afford to wait for a child to be attacked before the city takes action.”

Rose said Chick’s office has received complaints about “dozens” of attacks on pets in recent weeks.

One of the residents who called is Gaylan Reynolds, a West Hills resident whose 8 1/2-pound Maltese poodle was attacked by a coyote Sunday in her back yard, which is surrounded by a six-foot fence.

“It was absolutely horrible,” she said.

The dog survived but had numerous stitches to close the wounds, Reynolds said, adding that most of her neighbors have “horrible coyote stories.”

She said the attacks have residents around the school worried about the safety of students. “We have small children walking back and forth to school,” Reynolds said.

“Sometimes children don’t know the difference between a coyote and a large dog.”

Lila Brooks, president of the California Wildlife Defenders, criticized calls to trap coyotes, saying people are to blame for luring coyotes into residential neighborhoods by leaving open garbage cans, pet food and small pets outdoors. Some people even feed coyotes, a violation of city law, she said.

Brooks, a longtime opponent of coyote trapping who is known as the “Coyote Lady,” said trapping doesn’t work because when one coyote is eliminated from an area, the pack will produce additional coyotes to fill the void.

“It doesn’t make sense to trap them because it’s not solving the problem,” she said.

Instead, Brooks advocates an aggressive education program to teach residents how to protect pets and avoid enticing coyotes into residential areas.