In October of 2022, a resident of Wauwatosa reported that a coyote had bitten their dog. The City of Wauwatosa proceeded to hire a trapping company to catch and kill the “nuisance” coyotes in the area. It was announced that steel jaw traps would be set out in order to accomplish this.

This method of “solving the problem” of coyotes interfering with pets was enacted last year as well. The same trapper captured and killed five coyotes, following a reported pet-related incident. It was not known if any of those five coyotes actually had any connection to the incident. 

There are many issues with this plan of action. First and foremost, killing these coyotes does not solve the issue at hand. Coyotes have very strong territorial habits. If an adult is removed from the territory which they have been protecting, there is a good chance that 1 to 3 adults will immediately move in and claim the unprotected area. The ones who move in are new to the area, and are younger and less experienced than their predecessors. This leads to even more pet attacks and conflict, which exacerbates the problem rather than solves it.

Additionally, when coyotes are in situations where they are in danger, it has been shown that they reproduce more in order to mitigate their loss in population. This contributes to a spike in the overall coyote population which is the opposite of what is trying to be accomplished by killing them. 

Another issue is that there is no way to know if the “nuisance” coyote is the one being captured while setting out traps. Generally speaking, coyotes keep their distance from humans, with the exception of breeding season. During this time, coyotes may patrol more and be more active in defending their territories. Despite this there are numerous measures that can be taken in order to ensure safety.

As listed in the “Wauwatosa Coyote Nuisance and Response Plan Policy,” there are many ways to deter coyotes in order to prevent their interference with pets. The policy recommends removing attractants such as food and water sources from individual properties, along with keeping pets supervised and leashed. It also recommends “hazing” the coyotes by yelling at them or by using sounds devices in order to instill fear within them and deter them.

We are calling on the City of Wauwatosa to revise their policy to be more similar to Milwaukee County’s Urban Coyote Management plan, so that they too prioritize nonlethal measures when dealing with coyotes. 

It’s unethical to condemn the coyotes without clear evidence of who is at fault for the incident. Rather than solely placing blame on the coyotes, we need to hold ourselves and others accountable when it comes to keeping our pets safe. This is especially true if we know there has been a risk of having a negative encounter.  Rather than killing the coyotes which creates a temporary fix, we need to learn how to coexist with them.