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Published Sunday, November 27, 2011 in Opinion

Holiday pest control

By Alex McRae

The Newnan Times-Herald

Since I only fired a gun a couple of times a year, it was a huge deal to me. But nobody else in Ft. Gaines got too excited about it. Down there, shooting critters was second nature.

And not just the ones that went in the cook pot. I still remember the time a late evening family conversation was interrupted by a huge commotion behind the house.

Everyone knew what was happening. My Uncle Bill knew what to do. He said, "That fox is after the chickens again. I'm gonna kill it."

A few seconds later a shotgun roared and that was that. The next morning the radio antenna on Uncle Bill's truck was sporting a fine new fox tail.

Nobody gave it a second thought. Back then, if critters threatened your property or person, you took care of the problem. And not by calling the humane society or county animal control office.

When mild-mannered Atticus Finch gunned down a rabid dog in "To Kill a Mockingbird," he wasn't called a barbarian. He was thanked for protecting the local children.

Times have changed. At least in suburban north Georgia, where coyotes are a major nuisance.

Out in the country, people still shoot coyotes that threaten small pets or small children. It doesn't happen that way in the city. At least not in the Atlanta suburb of Decatur.

The problem isn't a shortage of guns. Police records show Decatur residents shoot each other on a regular basis. For some reason, they treat coyotes with more respect.

Recently, a Decatur woman was horrified when she heard a ruckus in progress and dashed outside just in time to see a coyote kill her cat.

Instead of shooting the coyote, the woman scared it off, then ran to government officials and asked them to create a program for dealing with coyotes.

Decatur City Manager Peggy Merriss told the press her staff was trying to teach residents to get along with the coyotes and reminding residents to keep pets and pet food indoors so coyotes wouldn't come around looking for live or dead snacks.

"For the folks who are very concerned about the coyotes and would like them trapped," Merris said, "there is an equal number who believe the natural environment should be protected."

That's a pretty noble goal. But here's my question. What is a "natural environment" for a coyote? Don't tell me it's a backyard in Decatur.

If humans swim in the ocean, they shouldn't complain if sharks eat them. The ocean is the shark's environment. Sharks make the rules.

A developed neighborhood is a human environment. Humans make the rules and coyotes should live by them or suffer the consequences. In Decatur, those consequences might include making trespassing coyotes attend human-animal coexistence seminars and learn all the verses to "Kum-ba-Yah."

Of course, relocating them to the deep woods is always desirable. That is, if they are willing to go. But coyotes might actually prefer city life to their "natural" habitat.

If life in the wild is anything like what Wile E. Coyote goes through in the "Road Runner" cartoons, dealing with suburban homeowners may seem to coyotes like a day at the beach.

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(Send your e-mail comments to: alex@newnan.com .)

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