Carson’s coyote problem prompted a special meeting Wednesday to figure out what to do about the wild animals living in a marshy area set in the middle of the Carson Harbor Village Mobile Home Park, south of the 91 Freeway.
Residents and animal rights activists both spoke to the Carson City Council, each with different ideas on what to do about the coyotes – which residents say have killed pets and chased children.
The meeting became heated as animal rights activists tried to protect the coyotes, and residents fought back.
"There's no control," said Carson resident Luris Bell. "What are we going to do? Are we going to wait until they kill a child?"
Angry residents at the park say they're at their wits end, and are begging city officials to trap and kill coyotes, which they say have killed more than 20 pets this year.
One of the victims was a dog named Princess who belonged to Monika Rollins and her disabled granddaughter and watch snatched from their porch.
"My granddaughter has sleepless nights," Rollins said. "I've been sleeping with her every night because she just relives that horrible, horrible incident that occurred on that day."
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Animal rights activists brought photos accusing residents of feeding pets outdoors, which attracts the coyotes.
The landowner James Goldstein has banned the city from trapping and killing the coyotes.
On Wednesday, the city received word from Goldstein's lawyer that he might allow the animals to be killed but only if the city spells out a plan on how to kill the coyotes without endangering the public and insures that the landowner won't be sued if anything goes wrong.
The city council voted to put together a task force of wildlife experts to educate residents how to co-exist with the animals.
In addition to educating the public on how to keep food inside, or out of reach of coyotes, activists suggest a variety of other methods to keep the coyotes out of the park, including a special roller fence.
"It's a roller that goes on top of a wall, and when the coyote go to jump a five or six foot wall, they fall right back down," according to animal rights activist, Randall Massaro.
But some residents don't believe such measures will work.
"Education is not going to do it," said resident Terri Forsyth. "They're asking us to cohabitate with these animals. We have cohabitated with them for several years now, and all they're doing is multiplying, and the problems are getting worse. It's reached crisis proportions now."
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