Tania Dall / Eyewitness News
NEW ORLEANS – Coyote attacks everywhere from City Park and River Ridge to St. Bernard are blamed for killing pets and causing fear. Coyotes have also attacked in Plaquemines Parish, and now one family there is taking matters into their own hands.
Their solution? Trap the animals themselves.
This sign sits along Highway 23 warning neighbors about coyote attacks. After losing their dog spider, one family said enough is enough.
"She instantly screamed, Mom!' and there was about 20 feet length of intestines of what was left of my little dog's body,” said Christy Becnel O’Halloran.
Before O'Halloran's dog Spider was killed by a coyote, she'd been warned.
"My friend had called me on May 20 and said her dog had been attacked by coyotes and taken away right in front of her husband's face, and I said that's not going to happen here,” she said. “I keep my dogs in a fence."
But it happened right in O'Halloran's backyard, not far from her childhood home where coyotes never used to roam.
"I've gone through the whole range of emotions,” O’Halloran said. “I've gone through sorrow and anger. Now I'm just in the solution phase."
Now the Plaquemines Parish family is taking action. A web search convinced O’Halloran to make the $126 investment in a Collarum, a canine capture device.
"When he grabs this bar, he triggers, sort of like a mouse trap, this ring will flip up over his head acting like a collar,” O’Halloran said. “It will hold him in place without killing."
So far, the elaborate trap and rotting chicken has helped catch two coyotes that were later killed by a friend.
"When he grabs this bar, he triggers, sort of like a mouse trap, this ring will flip up over his head acting like a collar,” she said. “It will hold him in place without killing."
"I know people throughout the New Orleans community have some great concern for their pets and their childrens safety relative to these coyote sightings,” said Major John Marie of the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office.
But, the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office says taking the coyote problem into your own hands is against the law.
"These coyotes can be dangerous, but it is illegal to discharge a firearm in the Belle Chase area or anywhere else in Plaquemines Parish,” Marie said.
As the coyote problem grows, O’Halloran maintains this is the best way to protect what she loves.
“After myself, my friend, and my cousin all lost our dogs to coyotes, we wanted to find something that was safe and effective."
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries did say it is legal to take a nuisance animal with both an approved weapon and hunting license. However, that state law varies from parish to parish.
If you are experiencing problems with coyotes, local law enforcement agencies recommend calling them or a licensed trapper to deal with the problem.
The SPCA has some safety tips when dealing with coyotes:
- Bring all pets indoors
- Supervise pets when outside
- Always keep pets on a leash
- Carry an air horn to deter coyotes
- Make sure trash cans are secure
- Close off small areas around your house
- Keep property well lit
