It looks like we are going to have an active coyote season here in Rossmoor.
The current policy of the State and therefore Orange County is that until a person (not a pet) is attacked (read that as bitten) OR a coyote is injured, there is nothing they will do beyond education on what to do when you see a coyote and how to reduce the coyotes interest in “visiting” Rossmoor.
Coyotes are not protected, but there are limited ways to legally trap them in California. If a coyote is trapped, it must be euthanize as it cannot be relocated by State law.
Reporting coyote sightings here on Rossmoor Wildlife Watch helps the various agencies know where coyote frequent so if they deem action needs to be taken, they have a good idea of where to trap.
To hire a trapper in Rossmoor, requires a permit from the County (since we are unincorporated). Other cities can authorize trapping based on their jurisdiction and ordinances.
There are two schools of thought regarding coyotes. The just deal with it / live and let live until some one gets hurt because trapping does little or no good since coyotes have urbanized and are in every state expect Hawaii and will bred to fill the void left be trapping.
And the we have to do something before someone gets hurt / coyotes are eating our pets / we don’t feel safe with coyotes wondering our streets school. These are people who feel we need to take action now to reduce or eradicate coyotes from the neighborhood.
Both schools of thought have “academic” and or “scientific” evidence supporting their claims.
Rossmoor, Seal Beach and other cities have removed (trapped and killed) coyotes in the past decade with some success, but it is a recurring issue since coyotes have urbanized and are mobile.
As you should expect, there are people in Rossmoor who are a part of both schools. Most people, however, fall somewhere in between live with it and remove them, so the status quo, set by the State is what happens – education.
Coyotes, like most animals, live where there’s food, water and shelter. As a neighborhood, we can eliminate places coyotes can shelter but have very little ability to control water sources (gutters, flood control channels, etc.). What we can do is reduce the attractiveness of our neighborhoods by eliminating food sources. This means keeping our small dogs and cats indoors, picking up fallen fruit, and not leaving pet food (or water dishes) outside after feeding.
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