Letter on Coyotes Short on the Facts

* I have never seen any oppositional response to a letter last month on coyotes allegedly terrorizing the community of West Hills. The letter by Mr. and Mrs. Michael Lazarou, which recounts a plea by scores of residents two years ago to City Council member Laura Chick to deal with the public safety issue regarding coyotes, is bereft of facts and substance.

The Lazarous neglected to tell you that at a [March 23, 1994] town hall meeting called by Chick at Parkman Middle School, the question of whether to keep a temporary ban on coyote trapping by the Department of Animal Regulation was voted in at 2 to 1 by the public. They also conveniently forgot to mention that petitions with over 10,000 signatures of L.A. residents (most Valley) to end the policy of capture and kill were presented to both the commission and the City Council. Add to that the support of the Hillside Federation, with more than 500,000 members, and you have a clear majority sentiment.

The message is clear. Install a proper coyote fence (others have already done so) that will keep your critters in and keep out the wild ones. Tie down your garbage can lids, keep cats indoors and start taking responsibility for your own life.

If, on the other paw, you’d rather have the city kill a coyote for you at everyone else’s expense (the city reports that it costs on average $5,700.54 to track, trap and kill one coyote), then pay the man $200 plus $100 deposit on the trap. Of course, you can always move to the inner city where they don’t have coyotes.

RON VARDI

Woodland Hills