L. A. Explains Policy on Trapping Coyotes

After receiving a large number of requests from residents for coyote traps, the Los Angeles Animal Services Department explained its policy Wednesday.

Although there is a ban against trapping coyotes, there are several exceptions, spokeswoman Jackie David said.

Coyotes may be trapped if they are sick or injured or if there is a county, state or federal mandate to trap them because of health and welfare risks, she said.

A sick coyote will be taken to a city shelter and euthanized, David said. If it is healthy, it will be released back into the area where it was caught.

The animals may also be trapped if the county health services department suspects that a coyote has rabies and has attacked someone.

Trapping coyotes does not reduce their population because they travel in packs, David said. When a pack member is taken away, the animals reproduce more.

“The way to drive them back into their territory is to not have water and food sources available,” she said.

Coyotes offer an ecological benefit by feeding on rats and keeping down the rodent population, David said. Although coyotes are generally afraid of human adults, that is not the case when it comes to children and pets.

“Small children and animals are fair game” if coyotes are hungry, she said. “If you feed them, you are socializing them to the community, so they no longer fear the community.”

Residents can try to keep coyotes off their property by raising wire or plastic fences to 8 feet and planting them deep to discourage coyotes from jumping over or digging under them.

In June, following coyote sightings in Granada Hills and Woodland Hills, Animal Services authorized the use of two box traps--one for each community. The city later removed the traps when officials discovered a resident had not removed food or raised a fence to keep coyotes away, David said.

There is now only one city trap, in Griffith Park where a sick coyote has been sighted, she said.