[Sustain] State Fish & Game Shoot & Kill San Francisco Coyote Pair!

[Eric Brooks]

Hey all,

It is absolutely -unacceptable- that California Fish and Game shot and
killed two of San Francisco's handful of coyotes that are making an
astounding and beautiful comeback in our city.

I am from the Sierras and can tell you from first hand lifetime
experience that coyotes pose absolutely no threat whatsoever to humans
that would in any way justify killing them.

We -must- get Ross to pass some sort of legislation which ensures that
this idiocy -never- happens again!

See the sfgate report on the incident below or at:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/16/BAG0DR1BA66.DTL&tsp=1

Two coyotes shot to death in Golden Gate Park

Marisa Lagos and Carl T. Hall, Chronicle Staff Writers

Monday, July 16, 2007

(07-16) 11:49 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Two coyotes believed to have attacked
a pair of leashed dogs in Golden Gate Park on Saturday were shot and
killed Sunday night by officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The state's department of Fish and Game decided to destroy the animals
after investigating the situation and determining there was a
significant public safety risk, Deb Campbell of Animal Care and Control
said today.

Kyle Orr, a spokesman for Fish and Game, said the animals -- a male and
a female -- were shot around 10:30 p.m. within 100 feet of where the
dogs had been attacked. Officials cannot be completely sure they were
the same animals, he said, but the pair's proximity to the attack site
led them to believe that they were the same coyotes.

The attack occurred about 9 a.m. Saturday, when a woman was walking her
two large dogs along a path just south of Speedway Meadow near a large
pile of mulch. Two coyotes bit one of the dogs, inflicting minor
injuries, and lunged at the other, according to city animal control
officials. On Sunday, a female dog-walker said two coyotes followed her
in the same area, authorities said.

Experts had theorized Sunday that the pair may have been acting so
aggressive because they had a litter of pups. But today, Orr said no
pups had been found and the female coyote was not lactating.

Orr said today that animal officials had been receiving calls reporting
the aggressive pair for about a week.

Campbell said wildlife officials believe the normally skittish coyotes
turned aggressive because they became used to humans. They warned people
not to feed the animals and to make sure garbage cans are securely fastened.

City officials and wildlife researchers estimate that about five to
eight coyotes live in San Francisco. These include at least two in
Golden Gate Park and one on Bernal Hill. There have also been sightings
in McLaren Park, Lake Merced and the Presidio.

Chronicle reporter Jim Herron Zamora contributed to this report.