Coyotes Still Rule

Two years ago the City and Police Department were receiving numerous complaints of coyotes in certain neighborhoods, usually near Mile Square Park.   Police Chief Paul Sorrell, since retired (at 53), organized a series of community meetings, involving representatives of Orange County Animal Control, the State Fish & Game Department and the Park's local manager (a county employee).

The meetings were well attended disasters.  Sorrell filibustered the sessions, severly limiting public comment and the State bored us to death with PowerPoint presentations read verbatim to the audience.  The park manager attended the first meeting but was never seen again.  

Bottom line: Coyotes have more rights than citizens.  They're indigenous and apparently higher than we citizen/taxpayers on the food chain.  They're allowed to live and breed in a revenue-generating county park, be unmolested by Animal Control, travel into our neighborhoods by the County Flood Control channel under Euclid and Brookhurst Streets and KILL OUR PETS.  Put another way, brave, well-compensated government employees responsible for our safety and protecting our property have better things to do.

After being scolded by the State for being irresponsible property owners, we were admonished to keep our garbage cans are covered, not leave food out and report the vermin when they're been seen (how close to our children?).  Yet, nothing seems to have improved. 

Copied below is July's portion of the Police Department Crime Trend Bulletin that inventories how active the vermin have become.  For only last month, after sitings about every other day, at least three cats died.  Perhaps this might seem closer to home if the police's sterile report might have said three beloved family pets were killed, after being stalked, violently eviscerated and possibly EATEN ALIVE. 

After the community meetings in 2010, neither the Police or City Council took any overt action -- for example, as has happened in other Orange County communities, no exterminator or animal handler was hired to capture and relocate or kill the vermin.  Not surprisingly, possibly due to the dynamically mismanaged state of our county government, Animal Control appears to have ignored the situation as there are no reports of ANY action take on their part, despite the Police's claim that all coyote sightings were reported to them.

COYOTE OBSERVATION LOG

RD 34 9700 block of Winthrop on 07/26/12 @ 0845 hrs. Coyote killed a cat.

RD 42 17400 block of Santa Lucia on 07/02/12 @ 0700 hrs. Two coyotes seen in the area over the last few days.

RD 42 17300 block of Santa Suzanne on 07/27/12 @ 0614 hrs. Coyote seen in the area.

RD 42 Magnolia/La Stella on 07/27/12 @ 1035 hrs. Coyote seen in the area.

RD 43 17300 block of Pepper Tree on 07/06/12 @ 2342 hrs. Coyote seen dragging a cat.

RD 43 La Stella/Pepper Tree on 07/07/12 @ 0130 hrs. Coyote seen chasing a cat. The cat’s remains were later found.

RD 43 17200 block of Oak on 07/12/12 @ 0400 hrs. Coyote seen in the area.

RD 43 Magnolia/Slater on 07/20/12 @ 0630 hrs. Coyote seen in the area.

RD 44 9700 block of La Zapatilla on 07/26/12 @ 0056 hrs. Two coyotes attacked a cat.

RD 54 9900 block of Slater on 07/28/12 @ 0228 hrs. Coyote seen in the area.

RD 56 10600 block of El Adelante on 07/09/12 @ 1101 hrs. Coyote seen in the area.

RD 56 La Rosa/La Lima on 07/09/12 @ 1119 hrs. Coyote seen in the area.

RD 62 18000 block of Courreges on 07/30/12 @ 2258 hrs. Coyote seen in the area.

RD 75 Ward/Thrush on 07/08/12 @ 0549 hrs. Coyote seen in the area.

14 - Total coyote related calls

13 - Actual coyote sightings

2 - Sightings with multiple coyotes

4 - Sightings with coyote(s) preying on a cat or dog

** All calls were relayed to Orange County Animal Control.

The now two-year old question remains simple -- does the City or Police Department or OC Animal Control or the State have any intentions of dealing with this vermin?  Who's responsible for protecting our property?  Is it going to take a more serious incident, like a child being bit, to rid the Nice Place to Live from this vermin?

8/14 Update: Here's a KTLA-TV5 News story about a Yorkshire Terrier DOG on a walk with its owners being killed by three coyotes in a Huntington Beach Park last weekend: Coyotes Snatch Dog on Walk in Huntington Beach.  The story also mentions an eight-year old girl being attacked last May.