We want to share the press release issued by Project Coyote about the Torrance City Council’s September decision on coyote trapping:
Project Coyote Applauds Torrance, Calif. Decision to Abandon Lethal Coyote Management
City council votes unanimously against renewing contract with trapper; Project Coyote urges compassionate coexistence policies across the state
TORRANCE, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026 — Project Coyote applauds last week’s unanimous decision by the Torrance City Council to not renew the city’s contract with longtime coyote trapper, ending a lethal control program that has killed more than 140 coyotes since 2019 at a cost of $80,000 annually. The council’s decision follows years of advocacy from Project Coyote, PETA, local residents, and wildlife experts who argued the program failed to reduce coyote activity or resolve conflicts with the community.
In place of trapping, the city will shift its focus to public education and awareness, including expanded information on its website about reducing human-coyote conflicts, targeted outreach to conflict “hotspot” communities, and possible future adoption of a wildlife feeding ordinance.
“This vote is a turning point for Torrance and brings the city in alignment with many other Southern California communities that have adopted a non-lethal coexistence approach to living with coyotes- including Calabasas, Pasadena, the City of Los Angeles, and the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments. For nearly a decade, the city poured resources into a program that peer-reviewed science consistently shows doesn’t work,” said Camilla Fox, founder & executive director of Project Coyote. “We’re grateful the council listened to the evidence and to the community, and we’re ready to help Torrance build a coexistence program rooted in education, prevention, and proven non-lethal solutions.”
“It has been a 10-year battle and I am so pleased to finally say thank you to the Torrance City Council for voting against renewing the contract for coyote trapping/killing,” said Suzan Hubert, president of the Friends of Madrona Marsh. “Thank you for being informed by science, history and nature.”
Peer-reviewed research shows coyote populations are highly resilient to lethal control and that removing resident coyotes opens territorial vacancies that are quickly filled by other coyotes. Science shows that there is no association between lethal hunting pressure and lower coyote abundance.
“The science is clear, and in Torrance, ongoing trapping was not meaningfully reducing coyote numbers,” said Rebecca Dmytryk, CEO of Humane Wildlife Control Inc. “What did appear to help was increased public education and conflict prevention. We hope Torrance remains open to working with local experts — between Friends of Madrona Marsh, Project Coyote, and Coyote SMART, there are decades of experience, expertise, and additional resources available when needed.”
Camilla Fox, Founder and Executive Director of Project Coyote, testified before the council on September 15, urging Torrance to invest instead in incident investigation, mapping, resident assistance, proactive education, and non-lethal targeted intervention, an approach modeled on programs in Marin County and other communities. Project Coyote also pointed to the city’s own Coyote Management Plan, which states that it is “not economically, ecologically or in other ways efficient to try and eradicate all coyotes from the urban ecosystem,” and offered its Model Coyote Coexistence Plan as a resource the city can continue to build on.
Project Coyote and its allies have offered to assist Torrance as it moves toward a more effective, proactive, and science-based approach to coexisting with coyotes, and point to cities such as Pasadena and Manhattan Beach as models for humane, results-driven coyote management.
Project Coyote is a fiscally sponsored project of Earth Island Institute, a 501c3 nonprofit. Project Coyote’s mission is to promote compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife—particularly North America’s wild carnivores—through education, science, advocacy, and coalition building. Led by scientists, educators, and wildlife advocates, Project Coyote works to change policies and perceptions to protect wild carnivores and foster ethical, ecologically sound stewardship.
Learn more at www.projectcoyote.org. Or Contact Amelia Perrin, Communications Manager, Ph: 919-619-4913, Email: aperrin@projectcoyote.org
