Newport coyote plan emphasizes scare tactics, though killing isn’t off the table

Though a recently released city plan to deal with aggressive coyotes in Newport Beach emphasizes education and “hazing,” officials say euthanasia may be used under extreme circumstances.

The goal of the coyote management plan, which city staff began working on in May, is to address increasing complaints about aggressive coyotes in Newport Beach neighborhoods. This summer, residents began demanding that the city come up with solutions to what they believe is a growing coyote problem, with the wild animals attacking and killing pets and showing up more frequently in people’s yards.

A Speak Up Newport meeting this month attended by more than 80 people became heated when residents heard that the city planned to focus on hazing, or scaring, the animals instead of taking stronger action. Some residents wanted coyotes killed.

A petition on change.org calls for the city to begin humanely trapping and removing aggressive coyotes, among other measures. It had 397 supporters Friday afternoon.

Mary Beth Potamkin, a petition supporter who has lived on the bluffs and in Corona del Mar, wrote that she has never experienced “nature as much as now.”

“This situation is out of control. These animals are coming closer and closer to our communities in search of food and, most definitely, due to water shortage,” she wrote. “Trap and move, or kill. I’m an animal lover, so that’s not easy to say, but in this case I say it.”

City Manager Dave Kiff defended the city’s plan, pointing to science that shows it is not possible to completely eliminate coyotes from an urban environment.

“The coyotes will repopulate,” he said. “We would be going down an endless path of killing and then the animals repopulating. I don’t think that’s where our community wants to be.”

Kiff said trapping and relocating coyotes isn’t feasible and is prohibited by state law.

“The problem ones, which are the aggressive ones, are far too shrewd to get into a humane trap,” he said. “The young or sick ones might, but they’re not the main problem.”

The city will classify residents’ coyote reports using a four-tiered color-code system. A green threat level would indicate that a coyote was seen or heard but was not aggressive, a yellow level would signify that a coyote doesn’t appear to fear human presence and an orange level would mean that a pet was attacked. The highest level, red, would signify that a coyote came in contact with or attacked a person.

The plan states that if multiple orange-level incidents occur in the same area in a short time, the city may recommend killing the coyotes involved.

If a human is attacked, city staff may recommend that a coyote be killed. Newport Beach has killed one coyote in the past three years, Kiff said.

The city plans to rely on reports from residents to identify and track aggressive coyotes.

The pilot program, which will need City Council approval before it is implemented, focuses mostly on educating the public to help drive coyotes from populated areas by reducing their food and water sources, including keeping pet food indoors, keeping an eye on pets when they are outside, removing fruit that has fallen from trees and keeping garbage cans closed tightly.

The plan also calls for a program that would teach volunteers and residents how to scare coyotes from their property. The city encourages residents to yell at coyotes, blow horns or whistles and throw rocks or other items in the coyotes’ direction to show them that they should be afraid of humans.

In Irvine, police have shot paintballs at coyotes in an attempt to keep them away from populated areas. Kiff said Newport Beach won’t do something similar right away, though it could be considered later.

A copy of the coyote management plan is on the city’s website, newportbeachca.gov. Residents can submit comments by Dec. 1 to Valerie Schomburg at [email protected].