Before the Walnut City Council met Wednesday to receive a report about coyotes in the area, a group of Walnut residents and animal activists protested the city’s approach, which includes trapping and killing the animals.
Cities throughout the San Gabriel Valley are grappling with how to handle coyotes. Walnut approved the trapping and killing of coyotes at its Aug. 14 council meeting. With the report on the consent calendar — items that are grouped together and approved with a single vote — members made no changes Wednesday.
Before the meeting, protesters, including local residents and animals rights activists from the Union Members for the Preservation of Wildlife, Project Coyote and the Humane Society, gathered in front of City Hall to spread the message that the community and wildlife should coexist in peace.
“If we kill off the wildlife, how do we justify all these beautiful preserves that we have in Walnut,” said Manuel Vela, a 36-year resident of Walnut and member of the UMPW. “Yet we destroy and kill the animals that lie in the preserves.”
Responding to an increase in the reports of negative coyote encounters, the city approved a coyote management plan, according to the Aug. 14 City Council agenda. Staff described these negative encounters as times in which coyotes have “encroached onto residents yards, attacked and killed small pets or even caused traffic issues on roads.”
The coyote management plan is a five-tier response, depending on the type of encounter residents face. Those encounters are sighting, stalking, hunting, attacking and extreme aggression.
If Walnut residents interact with coyotes within the first two tiers, they can report it to the city, which will then provide educational material to teach residents how to best prevent coyotes from coming around.
If residents notice coyotes on the hunt — entering yards, homes or trying to remove a pet — attacking or showing extreme aggression, the city may implement trapping measures, according to the plan.
Since August, Walnut has trapped and killed 11 coyotes, Assistant City Manager Tom Weiner said in a phone interview.
The protesters on Wednesday said they sympathize with those who have lost pets but still believe there are better ways to handle the problem. Killing coyotes should be a last resort, they said.
“We think we can make solutions to more peacefully with coyotes instead of just killing them,” said Paul Zou, a six-year Walnut resident.
The city agrees killing coyotes has always been a last resort solution. According to City Attorney Barbara Leibold, Walnut currently has no traps set in the city.
The coyote behavior that prompts a trap has to be extreme, Leibold said. “The response isn’t ‘Let’s go trap and kill coyotes.’”
Both Leibold and City Manager Robert Wishner said the protesters shared valuable information about coexisting with wildlife, and Wishner said he would be interested in listening to the protesters’ ideas.
“Ultimately, (for) the city, education is key,” Wishner said. “Educating the community, educating the residents on how to maintain their pets or cohabitate with the wildlife.”
