(PHOTO: Rye's Grizzly Adams AKA Jim Horton releases a mother coyote and her eight pups to a new location after trapping them on the Rye Golf Club. VIDEO below.)
Back on June 26th when Rye became Rye-ote in the wake of the coyote attacks, Rye PD Commish Connors told citizens a private trapping firm was retained and had recently trapped and released (to a remote location) a mother coyote and her eight pups from the Rye Golf Club (weeks before the first attack). At the time the Commish declined to release the name of the trapping firm.
The name of the trapping firm is Quality Pro Pest & Wildlife Services of Hawthorne. Its Grizzly Adams (AKA owner) is Jim Horton and he released this video of the mother coyote and eight pups being released to their new (undisclosed – kind of like witness protection) home.
City Manager Scott Pickup said that could include hiring a full-time animal-control officer to track coyotes.
“It makes sense,” Pickup said. “We can’t have police officers continuously engaged in this.”
These are the quotes in todays Journal News.
I agree and have from the get go….this is not a job for the RPD!
I thought there was a hiring freeze in Rye?
Now we can afford a full time “animal control officer” when we refuse to hire more Police and can’t complete 40ft. of fence at the Rec because we are out of cash???
I’m confused, anyone else?
Jim–
A couple of things.
First, when citing anything in the Journal News, all of us should proceed with caution or minimally disclaim its accuracy.
I don’t know if it’s due to how thinly staffed the JN has become… but for the last few years it’s been my observation that they just throw hastily written, poorly fact-checked pieces out there– fully devoid of any context.
For instance, the JN labels Ms. Fox a “biologist”, when in fact her degree (according to her own posted bio) is in environmental studies. Further, the article by implication assigns “The Coyote Project” a degree of authority that a reader is unlikely to question. Yet when you check out their organization, it’s basically a pro-animal advocacy group… devoted to “fostering humane and ecologically sound solutions to human-wildlife conflicts”… or basically anything BUT killing animals as a solution, no matter how heavy the problem. Ms. Fox, the founder of the CP, has “served in leadership positions with the Animal Protection Institute, Fur-Bearer Defenders, and Rainforest Action Network and has spearheaded campaigns aimed at protecting native carnivores…”.
If you read the JN, she’s presented as an expert… a “biologist”. Dig a little deeper and it becomes apparent that she’s basically a deeply devoted animal advocate to put it mildly, or a crusader more accurately (for my money).
No one that’s paid any attention to the Journal News should be surprised by this kind of “journalism”.
And I hear you on the “we can’t afford X, but we can afford Y” gripe… but keep in mind that the City Manager doesn’t make such a call on his own. Can’t do it.
And as sensitive as I am to the need to control costs, that concern goes right out the damn window when the issue of predators attempting to munch on our children is concerned. Don’t care if it’s the RPD or some kind of new hire– we need somebody to hammer the size of the coyote population down to nothing. Now.
And just my two cents–
The new fence at the Rec is fine. You can howl about the parking & speeding stuff all you want– totally get those concerns. But c’mon– the fence does not warrant anyone’s time or attention. I think it’s better looking than the cruddy one that used to be there. Just my two cents, sorry.
Thanks.
Betty,
I agree that the coyote problem needs to be resolved and as quickly as possible, the last thing any of us want is our children injured or worse!
Fully aware of the JN and their tactics.
That doesn’t mean this wasn’t said and I know the approval takes more than the City Manager.
If a full time Animal Control Officer helps keep our children safe how does less Police Officers accomplish the same?
As for the Rec fence….I always said the new fence looked better then the old one. My gripe is not with the quality!
What doesn’t look good is it stops short 40ft!!!
Is that how you would fence in your property?
BTW- Have you walked up & down the sidewalk and taken a real good look at the condition of the “new fence” between the South & North Entrances?
It is beat up and has been since the 1st 2 weeks of installation!
FTR – The field has been vandalised 3 times because this fence was not completed!!!
Sorry to disagree with you but the fence does deserve attention…the vandalism repairs are paid by you and me!!!