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Councilwoman Mungo Discusses And Fields Q & A Re Her Agendized Aug. 11 Coyote Mitigation Item; In Outdoor Meeting With Roughly 60 Residents (Many Who Favor Trapping/Killing) She Cites Other Anti-Coyote Measures, Says Trapping/Killing Ineffective And Doubts There Are Five Council Votes For It; Group Members React Coolly, Later Voice Views From Disappointment To Anger on Social Networks


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(August 5, 2015, 6:40 p.m.) -- Councilwoman Stacy Mungo appeared to back away from trapping/killing coyotes at an outdoor meeting on Aug. 4 during Nat'l Night Out outside her Wardlow park field office. Addressing a crowd of about 60 people at its height, Councilwoman Mungo spoke for roughly 17 minutes, then invited and fielded questions from attendees for roughly 45 minutes.

Councilwoman Mungo described measures other than trapping and killing and said components of a plan she's (her words) "working on" include clearing carcasses of other animals within four hours (eliminating a coyote attractant), active (not merely passive) hazing, better tracking of coyote locations, den clearing, public education and signage. She said trapping and killing (which the Seal Beach City Council authorized for a few weeks in Sept. 2014) wasn't effective and said trapping coyotes catches the weakest, not the most aggressive (as desired) and leads to bigger litters and more feeding.

Acknowledging that she faces Brown Act restrictions on assembling a majority vote in advance, Councilwoman Mungo said she believes there aren't five Council votes to approve trapping/killing. "I could tell you that I'm in favor of something, I could tell you that [mocking voice] 'I'm going to stand my ground and I'm going to push for it' [ends mock voice], but if I'm one vote and I can't get anything for you, that doesn't get us anything. So what I'm going to do is tell you what our thoughts are then tell you what I'm hopefully going to you what I'm hopefully going to be able to get support from my colleagues..."

Many who attended the meeting were members of a Facebook group that favors trapping/killing coyotes visible in neighborhoods; they sought the meeting with Mungo and reacted coolly to the Councilwoman's stance. Members of the group [(closed to a number of reporters; LBREPORT.com learns its content through alternative means] later voiced views on social networks ranging from disappointment to anger.

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Councilwoman Mungo's agendized item doesn't seek a policy change immediately, merely a report from LB Animal Care Services back to the Council [where a majority sets policy] within 30 days on what her agenda item called a Coyote Mitigation Program [that the agendized item doesn't describe, although an accompanying memo includes references to trapping and killing coyotes and what it costs to do so.] Councilwoman Mungo's agenda item is currently joined by two other Councilmembers (Supernaw and Uranga), meaning (if they stick with her) that only two other Council votes would be enough to prevail (three if the Mayor vetoed the item.)

Councilwoman Mungo described the components of what she's working on as follows:

  • More swift City removal of dead animal carcasses in which no carcass is left on the street after dusk and every carcass is picked up within four hours.

  • Adding a municipal code section [in addition to current state law] prohibiting the feeding of wildlife plus signage to alert visitors from outside Long Beach

  • Better tracking of coyotes (says there are more people reporting sightings on "NextDoor.com" and "Facebook" than to LB Animal Care Services.)

  • Better coyote den clearing (noting it's too late for this season but said it could be done next year)

  • Implementing "active hazing" (Councilwoman Mungo says it's what Leisure World in Seal Beach does) including bean bags sprayed with bear spray (irritant) or paint balls with a biodegradable gel to teach coyotes to avoid human interaction.)

Councilwoman Mungo said she'd measure success by whether the number of coyote encounters goes down (success), remains stable, or increases (unsuccessful.) She told the crowd, "If you were able to show me statistics that showed trapping and killing in Seal Beach reduced encounters, then maybe I would be in favor of it, but the statistics just don't show that."

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Some in the crowd could be seen quietly shaking their heads "no" as the Councilwoman spoke, and the negative responses seemed to intensify as the Q & A continued. One woman asked: "In the meantime, what do we do about coyotes jumping over the fence, walking our dogs. they're out in the middle of the day. They're on running down Mezzanine at noon." Councilwoman Mungo replied that "If you have a solution to that particular coyote, I'd be open to hearing it. I haven't heard one that we know works yet." The questioner followed-up: "Why doesn't ACS [LB Animal Care Services] go get the coyotes running down the street in the middle of the day? Why don't they pick them up?" Councilwoman Mungo said that in some parts of L.A. County, dogs currently run wild...and said coyotes are even harder to catch.

Another woman asked about firing tranquilizer darts. Councilwoman Mungo said she wished it was that easy, but current city rules don't allow it and it raises liability insurance issues. Councilwoman Mungo said she's meeting with the City Attorney and Animal Care Services Director on what to do over time but currently the city's Animal Control officers can't carry tranquilizer guns. If the City wanted to hire people to do that, the Councilwoman said there's no current research or studies on whether it's effective, but she'd be willing to reach such research if people could provide it, adding that she has read about biodegradable paint balls and said they are effective.

Councilwoman Mungo reiterated: "In discussions with my colleagues, it would be challenging to get a trapping policy...and so as I mentioned, if a majority of the residents of the 5th district would like me to go forward, to champion an idea that I couldn't get five votes for, I'm open to doing that. These [the measures she cited] are ideas that I think I can get passed that I hope will make a difference based on the state of the majority of [the council.]"

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Another woman followed and described what she said were visible coyotes in the area of Prisk Elementary School. Councilwoman Mungo replied (inaccurately) that Prisk is in Councilwoman Suzie Price's Council district and volunteered (accurately we presume) that Price had declined to be a co-signer on Mungo's coyote agenda item. (Fact: Prisk is in Councilman Supernaw's district, who is already a co-signer on Mungo's agenda item.)

Councilwoman Mungo advised members of the crowd to invite LB school board members to the Aug. 11 Council item to be "part of the conversation because the school district needs to hear from you" and then stated (inaccurately) that the Prisk's school board member is Jon Meyer when it's actually Diana Craighead. Councilwoman Mungo said she hopes "you will invite them to be a part of the conversation and attend council meeting on Aug 11 because the school district needs to hear from you as well."

Finally, over a half hour into the discussion, a man referred to the woman's concern about children at Prisk and stated, politely but firmly:

"All I ask is that we err on the side of the little old ladies walkin' their dogs, and these kids, as opposed to these animals that are walkin neighborhoods and every little kid they see is meat. [Emphatically] I just cannot comprehend that [inaudible/park noises] has basically said we're not going to actually remove one [of the coyotes] until somebody gets attacked. I just want to..." at which point there were shouts from the crowd of "I agree" (several people repeated this) and strong applause rose.

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Councilwoman Mungo followed with this: "I'm going to tell you one more thing...There are tons of state laws that make it very difficult for me to help you...[Y]ou have to call your state representatives" (and urged calls to Assemblyman Patrick O'Donnell, state Senator Janet Nguyen and state Senator Ricardo Lara to "tell them how you feel. The six biggest issues in my community are issues that I do not have legal standing." She added: "I am here to represent your interests, and I am here to make as big a step as I can possibly make on your behalf. I hope that you are of the mind that escalating our mitigation program is a step in the right direction."

Councilwoman Mungo told the crowd (comprised largely of residents who favor trapping and killing coyotes visible in neighborhoods) that they should be aware she is receiving just as many calls against trapping/killing. She encouraged members of the crowd to come to the Aug. 11 Council meeting, but noted that it's expected to be lengthy since it includes a major item regarding the minimum wage.

Developing. Further to follow on LBREPORT.com.



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