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By Hilary Reynolds-Burton

The fearful decision-makers in Greenwood Village should stop trapping and killing coyotes. The coyote is a natural part of the Colorado ecosystem, and has as much right to be here as the esteemed Greenwood Village City Council.

Coyotes are no more or less than an undomesticated version of the dog you love and the dog that loves you. To use leg-hold traps is inhumane and they are banned in many areas because of the suffering they cause. The animal struggles in a frenzy of pain and confusion, often mutilating itself, dislocating joints, breaking teeth, chewing a leg or paw — all in an attempt to break free.

Trappers have a name for the phenomenon of animals chewing off their own extremities to escape; they call it “wring-off.”

This is also the month of May when new pups are born; female coyotes caught in Greenwood Village’s traps have families to feed, making the entrapment even more painful. The puppies will slowly die of starvation or, in a weakened and unprotected state, might be eaten by other predators.

Is this the image Greenwood Village wants to portray to its community? Trapping in humane traps and relocating would be preferable to the intolerable physical and mental pain the city is inflicting.

It is widely known that coyotes would rather attack a rabbit than a person, and following someone and snarling — while frightening — should not be a death sentence. In all of North America, a coyote has killed only one person since 1980.

Perhaps an education program combined with proper deterrents could alleviate the problem of overpopulation.

It seems to me that Greenwood Village has purposely chosen the most painful and uneducated of all possible solutions. The city’s fear is way out of proportion with the reality of your situation. I ask Greenwood Village officials to please reconsider — for the good of all.

Hilary Reynolds-Burton is a resident of Nederland.

READER COMMENTS

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,274597,00.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,274597,00.html

rs
you are in the coyotes back yard, back to the bottom you go.

A very good letter. We hope that citizens will contact the Greenwood Village city council and express their outrage.

A very good letter. Thank you for alerting your readers to this tragic situation. We hope that citizens will contact the Greenwood Village city council and express their outrage.

Dear RS I thought you might want to know that we share the "Top of the Food Chain" with several other animals, killer whale, big cats and bears come to mind. I am also worrried that you are as paranoid as the Green Wood Village community board. Just becuase something or someone snarles do you really think you have the right to take it's life? All life is more precious and important than you seem to ackowledge with your fearful reply.

Thank you Ms. Burton for writing to address the cruel nature of these leghold traps and snares. The Greenwood Village City Council has hired a trapper who claims that "...animal safety always a priority. Captured wildlife will be transported, relocated, released safely, healthy and substantially far enough away to prevent return." However, the trapper admitted to the community that he shoots "the coyotes and any other animal in the trap". The animals are not being relocated - they are being shot. Two dogs have already been injured by these traps and this trapper killed a woman's dog a few years ago without having permission to be on her property. Would RS like to comment on that?

Many who use that trail to ride horses or walk are horrified that there is NO SIGN warning them of the TYPE of traps. Why is there no sign? Because the traps and snares are CRUEL and the City Council knows it. This area is a nature preserve for wildlife. The complaints are from the adjacent transient Preserve subdivision whose residents have no long term interest in the community and, by covenant, will not allow any fences. A coyote sighted in The Preserve just 10 days ago was dragging the trap behind it.

Furthermore, if the City Council would refer to its own research from predatordefense.org, cited in the Memorandum from the City Council's City Manager, Jim Sanderson, then it would recognize that these methods will increase the coyote population and dramatically change their learned behavior. How do we know that? The City Council, without notice to its residents, began trapping 2 years ago. Now, the population is larger than it has ever been and any aggression is due to changes in learned behavior from past trapping. These adults were once pups who were not taught to hunt rabbits and other prey but had to scavenge for food because their parents were DEAD! Excellent work! Let's give them a raise. The brain trust running that City will have hell to pay when it has to answer for the consequences. Why listen to the wildlife biologists who gave the City Council effective humane options when they can use the local animal killer who has been doing this for years and has been well paid for it? Do they really believe that this trapper will tell them that he methods are both cruel and ineffective? Don't you wonder why he has to return year after year?

RS appears to be the exact model of the hysterical, uneducated person referred to in the article who would prefer to kill rather than listen and learn. Functionally illiterate? You probably are already on the City Council or maybe you are one of the hysterics. Make an effort to learn from history and true experts who have studied animal behavior, not the drama queens and the well-paid killer.

She's right, they should just shoot them. A snarling coyote follows me or any family member and he is dead, just as a human predator would be. We ARE the top of the food chain; Deal with it!

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