Coyote dies in illegal trap in Lake Forest Park!

On December 21, 2014, a 15-year-old girl found a dead coyote in a steel-jawed leg hold trap in the near NE 187th Pl. and 47th Ave NE in Lake Forest Park (LFP). The girl was walking her dog in the woods on watershed property. The area is LFP Water District property and that agency has been notified, as has the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. At this point it isn't known who set the trap or if there might be more of them. It is a criminal offense in Washington state to use a steel-jawed, leghold trap, and penalties include up to a year in jail, a $5000 fine or both.

Federal wildlife agent: It’s a neighborhood problem, not a coyote problem

Please take a moment to visit the West Seattle Blog to read about a USDA Wildlife Service Agent's message to West Seattle residents looking to lethally remove coyotes from the Admiral neighborhood - "Don’t put your pets in harm’s way. And don’t make any other food source easily available, either. Losing pets to coyotes (or other predators) is a neighborhood problem, not a coyote problem."

Coyote puts on a morning show in January

On a cold and foggy morning, with the sun just beginning to peek through, we spotted this coyote on the far side of the river, just above the weir.  The coyote spotted us too, and for the next 5-6 minutes, the coyote gave us a show.  As you can see, the coyote was staring at us much of the time, and this show seemed to be somehow for our benefit. 

The first two photos are by Ollie Oliver, the rest by Dasha Gudalewicz.

Michael Markarian: Animals & Politics: Federal Trapper Arrested for Animal Cruelty

Michael Markarian: Animals & Politics: Federal Trapper Arrested for Animal Cruelty

Please read The Humane Society Legislative Fund's President Michael Markarian's recent posting on a tragic event that happened in Arizona last week involving a USDA Wildlife Services trapper.

Federal Trapper Arrested for Animal Cruelty

The USDA’s Wildlife Services program—established more than 80 years ago with the passage of the Animal Damage Control Act of 1931—wastes millions of taxpayer dollars recklessly killing animals with steel-jawed leghold traps, toxic poisons, aerial gunning, and other hideous lethal methods every year. Several former USDA-Wildlife Services employees and whistleblowers have described the agency’s deeply rooted culture of disregard for animals, and for these reasons, have long suspected that some federal trappers may be committing crimes against animals while performing work-related duties. They’ve never been caught in the act, until now.

USDA’s Wildlife Services - a “service” wildlife can do without

Wildlife Services is a program of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that spends millions of taxpayer dollars annually to kill thousands of apex predators—coyotes, wolves, bears, cougars, and many others—as a subsidy for the livestock industry. The animals are shot, poisoned, gassed, snared, and caught in leghold traps - methods that are indiscriminate, ineffective, cruel, and also hazardous to humans and pets.In recent years, Wildlife Services has branched out to increase its programs to remove wildlife from urban areas - killing animals for eating flowers and pet food, digging in gardens, frightening people, and other concerns that could easily be addressed by nonviolent methods.

 This is the agency that has been contracted to eliminate coyotes and mountain beaver numerous times in Lake Forest Park.

The Humane Society of the United States Commends City of Lake Forest Park for Humane Wildlife Management Plan

The Humane Society of the United States applauds the city of Lake Forest Park, Wash., for taking a positive step toward humanely addressing conflicts between people and coyotes. The city council recently accepted a wildlife management plan that focuses on humane methods for resolving conflicts with coyotes and other urban wildlife.