A young coyote lay dead after being humanely destroyed by a local property owner. Peter Day / The Leader
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By Peter Day
and Caroline Lieber
LUCERNE VALLEY • Throughout last Wednesday night, Pat Pierzina’s ranch mutt “Happy” barked while several peacocks howled. The next morning the owner of Crystal Hills Ranch learned the reason for the ruckus.
A young male coyote sat in her backyard pond, not moving from his perch. After she observed the animal for a half-hour with a pair of binoculars, Pierzina, went outside to investigate further.
What remained of the coyote’s front left paw was stuck in a large spring-loaded, steel jaws-style foothold trap. Spots of blood showed where the animal had traveled on the surface of a nearby deck before settling in the water.
Pierzina surmised the coyote found a way under the chain-link fence that surrounds seven acres of her 20-acre property.
“How could anyone do this to this poor, poor thing?” she asked.
The New York City native, who became a Lucerne Valley rancher in the late 1990s, says she knew the right thing to do. She grabbed a 22-cal. rifle and put the coyote out of its misery.
Protection vs.
pest control?
The sentiments about coyotes are varied. While many people see them as wild animals deserving of protection, others see them as pests to be controlled. According to the University of California Integrated Pest Management (IPM), coyotes have no special protection in California.
The state passed a measure in 1998 banning the use of leghold traps except in situations where an endangered species is subject to predation. California Penal Law states that “it is unlawful to use any steel-jawed leg-hold trap, padded or otherwise to capture any game mammal, fur-bearing mammal, non-game mammal, protected mammal or any dog or cat.”
Prior to using such a trap, users must must take and pass a supervised written trapping examination. The completed exam and application are mailed to the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), along with the appropriate fee for processing. The CDFG assigns a permanent trap number. This number must be clearly stamped on any trap.
Section 597 of the California Penal Code refers to cruelty to animals, defined as “maliciously and intentionally” maiming, mutilating torturing, wounding or killing a living animal, and is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, or by a fine of not more than $20,000, or by both.
IPM says that strategies for resolving coyote problems must be tailored to specific situations, as the ways in which coyotes cause problems are variable.
More traps?
But Pierzina believes there is no question about it — trapping coyotes is unnecessary and cruel. She has noticed a decrease in the number of coyotes in her area while sightings of bobcats, quail, roadrunners and other native animals has seemingly remained constant.
She also worries untargeted animals, such as dogs or cats, could become ensnared and lose limbs — or their lives. Her worries are substantiated by studies.
Former trapper Dick Randall told Congress in 1975 that his records showed for each target animal trapped, “about two unwanted individuals were caught.” And the results were almost the same: “Because of trap injuries, these nontarget animals had to be destroyed.”
But the trapper who laid the trap that severely injured the coyote on Pierzina’s property wasn’t necessarily a neighbor angry at a coyote that killed his pet or small livestock. Chances are Wildlife Services, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, put out the trap.
According to government records, more than 90 wildlife species were mistakenly killed by leg-hold traps put out by the agency since 2000. Unlucky animals that met a tortuous demise include foxes, badgers, porcupines, river otters, antelope and bald eagles, which are federally protected.
Pierzina hopes to never again see such a horrific sight as the coyote in obvious anguish who sought refuge in her backyard. But she believes it may not be the last time it happens.
“I think there’s probably more traps up here,” Pierzina said. “If there’s one, there’s more.”
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Peter Day is editor of the Lucerne Valley Leader. Caroline Lieber is a freelance writer from Ojai.