Coyote Advocates: Rye's Hunting and Trapping Methods Too Aggressive

Recent coyote attacks on children in Rye have sparked a crusade to keep these animals at bay. However, several coyote advocates are concerned that the methods being used by Rye Police to trap and kill the coyotes are too aggressive and non-selective, which could create an even bigger problem in the long term.

"There hasn't been a problem before March, so the coyote community was stable so no new coyotes could come in," said CeAnn Lambert, President of the Indiana Coyote Rescue Center in Bringhurst, Ind. "They are very territorial. Bloodlust of the community is going to leave that coyote territory unstable and within three weeks new coyotes can move into that territory."

After two coyote attacks in June on a 6-year-old girl and 3-year-old girl in Rye, Rye officials, with the backing of state authorities, have said they will hunt and euthanize coyotes because the animals have become more aggressive towards humans.

"I don't think that once these behaviors are exhibited that there is any rehabbing for these animals. I think they need to be removed from the population," said Kevin Clarke, a wildlife biologist with the State Department of Environmental Conservation who spoke at a July 1 public forum at Rye City Hall.

While advocates agree that offending coyotes should be killed, there is no way of knowing which coyotes have committed the attacks, they said. 

Frank Vincente, Director of the Wild Dog Foundation, a coyote education group in Mineola, also said that Rye may be creating a bigger problem for itself.

Vincente believes that the most recent attacks were committed by young coyotes whose parents were likely euthanized after the first coyote attack in March that killed a poodle at the Osborn Retirement Community. After the incident, Rye Police began hunting coyotes and have since captured nine of them, including one female and eight pups. Authorities have said the coyotes were relocated, not killed.

Still, Vincente argued that random killing of parental coyotes could be counterproductive for the city.

"When you kill the parents of a pack, the one- year olds do not have the parental instilled knowledge on how to avoid humans and what is appropriate to hunt," Vincente said. "Indiscriminant killing of family groups creates these chaotic family units, so inexperienced juveniles wind up in trouble. You also eliminate the dominant animals that prevent subordinates from breeding, thus growing the population as these subordinates become breeders."

Rye Mayor Doug French said completely eliminating the coyote population is not the city's goal.

"The Rye City strategy is one that has been developed through careful consultation and discussion with professional wildlife biologists at both the federal and state level," he said. "All parties agree that eradication is not the goal, but safe removal of coyotes that show aggression through hunting and trapping is the necessary response for public safety -- and that will continue to be our priority in this matter."  

French and Rye Police Commissioner William Connors met Wednesday with officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the State DEC, Westchester County and neighboring communities such as Rye Brook, Harrison, Port Chester and Mamaroneck to formulate a long-term plan.

Connors said that law enforcement and city officials will alter their strategy for dealing with the coyote issue long-term.

"We don't expect that to go on forever," Connors said in reference to shooting the animals. "We're not looking to be in the hunting business."

The city has yet to trap any coyotes since the two attacks because coyotes are notoriously difficult to trap during the summer months, Connors said. From September through May coyote pups begin to disperse and they become much easier to catch. During the winter months when coyotes are seeking out food they are also easier to locate.

Connors said the city has switched from using leg hole traps, which some advocates argue is the most effective method, to using collarum traps, which catch and restrain coyotes by the neck. However, the city will rely on other strategies, such as hazing and harassment, in the long term.

"[The goal is] Putting a program in place for the sort of human behavior that makes coyotes not to want to be around humans and to discourage the kind of curiosity and aggressiveness that they've shown," Connors said.

Advocates like Lambert encourage these kinds of techniques.

"Some groups out in California are using paint ball guns and they are shooting at the coyotes, which makes them run off. Pepper spray or anything that makes a loud noise works, [as do] fire crackers as long as they don't throw them at the coyotes," she said.

Vincente adds that a "massive public education" is necessary for any method to be effective. Vincente, who has been a coyote educator for 15 years, said he would even speak throughout Westchester for free in order to educate residents about how to behave around coyotes. 

Connors said educating the public will be an integral part of the city's long-term strategy. He also said that the city will decide whether the police department, an animal control officer or private trappers will be tasked with regularly handling the coyote issue. He and Mayor French said the end goal is for the city to determine what is affordable and sustainable in the long-term.

"The resources we use and the tactics we deploy will continue to be evaluated and shifted based on their effectiveness and safety to the residents," French said.