Coyote Attack Research Paper

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Aryan Behnamjou English 1A July 31, 2012 Essay 5 Solutions to coyote attacks Though Coyotes are thought to be harmless, they are actually responsible for many attacks on humans and pets in suburban areas especially southern California. Throughout the past decade the number of attacks they have caused have been considerably high and increase each year. Their attacks have resulted in death to kids and small pets and in injury to adults. It’s affected residents lives in the sense that they fear for their own and loved ones safety. They have to have second thoughts about taking walks out at night, leaving their kids and pets unintended in the backyard…show more content…
Not only does it re-instill the fear of humans in coyotes, it decreases their population. The lesser amount of coyotes, the lesser the number of attacks. Leg hold trappings are one of the most effective tools used to capture coyotes in suburban areas. When coyotes are caught by the trap, they are humanely euthanized. These traps can be used in the state of California, under the provisions of the 1988 anti-trap initiative, only when a problem coyote is considered a safety emergency. In “Coyote attacks: an increasing suburban problem” Craig Coolahan states this following statistic about leg hold traps.“At locations where leg hold trapping has been used successfully, coyote problems typically have not reoccurred for at least 2 years and usually longer.”(Coolahan par.20). I’d say that’s very efficient. Two years is a considerable amount of time in which the leg hold traps keep the coyotes from causing trouble. The next component of lethal control is shooting them .This step is only permitted when a coyote is considered a direct threat to the public meaning it has made multiple attacks in the matter of a couple days. Shooting is not allowed by everyone no matter the situation. According to Coolahan “Shooting coyotes has limited feasibility in urban and suburban areas, and it must always be coordinated with local law enforcement agencies”(Coolahan par.22). Only trained personal are allowed to take this…show more content…
They believe that non lethal control is sufficient enough to deal with the rising coyote issue. Non lethal control consists of educating people about what to do, and what not to do to avoid attracting coyotes. They believe simple precautions such as fencing, feeding pets indoors(never leave dog food outside), neighborhood sanitation, etc can help decrease the chances of coyote attacks. According to Laura Simon, director of humane society “lethal approach is misguided, knee-jerk, especially if alternatives such as keeping pet food indoors,spraying coyotes with hoses shooting them with rubber bullets and paintballs could be more effective”(Barboza par.10). She sees lethal as excessive and believes that other steps(non lethal) are beneficiary. Although non lethal control is somewhat effective and should be taken by all suburban residents, Ultimately coyotes are predators that need to be terminated, only when they start to act aggressively towards
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