The buck ends there. Our city needs to terminate its contract with USDA WS.
Again, denning signage and education could have prevented the bite in the first place, but these were not in place. The aftermath of the bite could have been handled much more efficiently and professionally than the bloodbath that ensued involving WS.
Here are the texts I obtained through FOIA. I’ve copied and pasted the relevant ones here. They sent me many pages, but these are the important ones screenshot from their text messages:
FOR FOIA DOCUMENTS, PRESS HERE
ADDENDUM EDIT after receiving CAWF FOIA documents: The records obtained through FOIA from USDA Wildlife Services state that they (USDA WS) shot “total count 3 adults, 1 pup” and that one of those got away and would be found dead.
But CAWF documents state that three coyotes were shot: 1 male, 1 pup, and a female who got away. Were there 3 or 4 shot?
Sep 07, 2024 @ 17:32:53
Wildlife services is the killing arm of the U.S. Govt. Anything with 2 eyes, they take out. Many cities have terminated contracts with them.
From a news release from the Center for Biological Diversity” released this AM…
“In 2023 the program killed 375,045 native animals across the country, including 305 gray wolves, 68,562 coyotes, 430 black bears, 235 mountain lions, 469 bobcats, 2,122 red and gray foxes, 5,054 black-tailed prairie dogs, and hundreds of owls, otters and osprey, along with tens of thousands of other birds and wildlife. It also killed 24,603 native beavers.
When I testified against Wildlife Services programs at a local board of supervisors meeting, the ag lobby derided us. Even with sound logic, evidenced-based science, and the rights of communities to native wildlife, they dismissed the value of bears and coyotes and lions, relying on fear-mongering mythologies of carnivores as villains that prey on children at bus stops.
But the reality is that agricultural destruction of ecosystems, predator-prey balance, and watershed pollution is the real threat, not scary stories about the big bad wolf.”
Sep 07, 2024 @ 23:44:09
Yes, thank you so much for adding this. Janet
Sep 07, 2024 @ 18:15:48
Oh For Godssake! Wildlife “Services” only purpose in its “mission” is to kill wildlife, town or country. Time to get the City out of that contract! I will start with my Supervisor.
Sep 07, 2024 @ 23:45:04
Yes. See Melinda’s comment. Janet