A vote by the Torrance City Council to ban the municipality’s lethal coyote trapping program in favor of more humane methods was being cheered by an animal rights group Wednesday.
“After years of a cruel and ineffective trapping program in Torrance, a much more enlightened and fact-focused city council voted to stop the expensive program,” according to a statement from PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “Dozens of America’s Song Dogs endured terrifying snaring only to be thrown into a chamber and gassed to death by a trapper who flouted the law.”
According to Lange, killing coyotes is ineffective because others will move in to areas made vacant “unless discouraged to do so through humane, effective approaches like removing attractants such as trash and cats left outdoors to fend for themselves.”
Many residents have also found hazing to be effective, according to Lange.
“Torrance’s war on wildlife has finally ended,” she stated.
City News Service reached out to Torrance officials for a response and have not yet received an answer.
This should have happened years ago, but I’m glad the city has finally realized what PETA tried to tell them for eons: Trapping and gassing coyotes is not only cruel but ineffective, as more animals will move in if the area is full of attractants. That’s why non-lethal methods have proved effective time and time again. And they leave close-knit coyote families in peace.
I’m glad the city chose care over killing coyotes. Coyotes live in family groups, and parents with older pups work together to raise the young. We can keep pets safe and avoid conflict by securing trash, removing food, and hazing coyotes to move them along. We should back humane programs that teach coexistence and stop methods that break up families.
I’m glad to see Torrance end this cruel program. Coyotes are simply trying to survive, and trapping and killing them is neither compassionate nor a lasting solution. Humane methods that address what attracts coyotes in the first place are the right way forward.