WAUWATOSA, WI — A group of animal rights activists and Wauwatosa residents gathered outside of city hall Wednesday morning to protest the trapping methods used by the city to control nuisance coyotes.
The last time a coyote was trapped and killed in Wauwatosa was in early 2022, according to Eva Ennamorato, the city’s communications manager. Five coyotes were captured, Patch reported at the time. The city’s management plan requires a verified pet attack and a resident request for the city to hire a trapper.
More recently, the city hired a trapper in early February in response to a pet attack that happened near Underwood Creek in late 2022. The contract lasted two weeks and the trapper did not capture any coyotes, according to Ennamorato. During the recent coyote trapping attempt, officials encouraged people to never feed coyotes, secure their pet’s food and water inside, remove bird feeders and seed from the ground, secure trash and to never leave pets unattended or off-leash.
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See also: Wauwatosa Gives February Update On Coyotes Near Underwood Creek
A news release from Direct Action Everywhere, the group behind Wednesday’s protest, asked for the city to not use un-targeted trappings unless “it is a matter of direct human health or safety.” The group also asked the common council to change its coyote management plan to prioritize education “and cease the culling of coyotes in response to pet encounters.”
Find out what's happening in Wauwatosawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The group said education efforts should focus on changing human behavior, being a responsible pet owner and how to train coyotes with negative stimuli. Activists also asked for the city to hold pet owners responsible such as when they are violating ordinances like allowing dogs to run off-leash.
“I think for the time being, the best thing that we can do is take personal accountability and try to mitigate the coyote encounters ourselves,” said one protester and group spokesperson Nisha Kumar, “and then whatever methods the city has, as long as they’re prioritizing the nonlethal action, that’s going to benefit everybody.”
Kumar said another problem with setting out traps in response to a pet attack is that they may end up trapping un-involved coyotes.
“You might be eliminating other coyotes that are adapted to stay out of the way,” Kumar said. “I think that, as humans, we have moved into the territory of other animals. And I think that we should be learning how to coexist with them because they are here to stay.”
The current coyote management plan does mention public education and “hazing.” Hazing is when humans actively try to train coyotes to stay away by scaring them with noises and throwing things.
The city’s plan also notes several factors that may lead to conflicts between humans and coyotes and how they can be prevented. Some of those factors include:
Wednesday’s protest came after a Community Affairs Committee meeting Tuesday night where several city leaders addressed a proposed ordinance that would ban the feeding of most wild animals, including turkeys. The committee adopted the proposal, sending it to the city’s common council for later consideration. The ordinance would be adapted from existing state law from the Department of Natural Resources and would allow for local enforcement from several departments within the city.
Mayor Dennis McBride noted the proposal is pertinent to turkeys and other forms of wildlife that have caused issues. McBride said he’s heard of mail carriers having issues with turkey’s attacking them. The mayor also mentioned problems with rats in the city, and how it is intertwined with feeding.
See also: Petition Calls Killing Of Wild Wauwatosa Turkeys ‘Unjust’
“Where we especially see it is around restaurants and stores and we see it where people are pouring corn on the ground and feeding turkeys,” McBride said at the meeting, “this can’t continue it’s a health hazard, it’s a rat hazard, it’s a physical hazard.”
McBride told the committee that the city should adopt a code that allows for birdfeeders on property, but not the sort of feeding that has caused issues.
Wauwatosa Health Department Officer Laura Stephens told the board their work already focuses on prevention, such as by sending neighborhood letters.
“Elimination is not something we want to do,” Stephens said.
You can read the entirety of Wauwatosa’s Coyote Nuisance Management and Response Plan Policy online.
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