Dear Co-Chairs Senator Cohen and Representative Demicco, Vice-Chairs Reps. Gresko and Sen. Kushner, Ranking Members Rep. Harding and Sen. Miner, and members of the Environment Committee: I appreciate the opportunity to comment on HB 6014 AN ACT PROHIBITING THE USE OF LEGHOLD AND BODY-CRUSHING TRAPS. I respectfully oppose this legislation that is before you today and hope you will also, as it will significantly hinder the state’s ability to manage wildlife in a sustainable fashion, it will put humans and pets at risk and cause more damage to property. As our state continues to become more and more urbanized with sprawl and the development of once sustainable habitat, wildlife becomes more and more comfortable with human interaction. With that the animals have more negative impacts on Connecticut residents. Beavers will flood septic systems, and put roadways at danger of washing out. Coyotes will have more conflicts with pets and humans. Moles will cause more damage to well manicured lawns which will force property owners to use more pesticides which could contaminate the ground waters.

With the banning of these devices moles will not be able to be controlled using the current practice of trapping. That only leaves a property owner the option of living with an unsightly lawn or using pesticides to treat the problem.

Beavers typically are trapped using foothold traps and smooth wire traps, this bill would prohibit the use of these devices and allow the use of suitcase type traps, which if you have ever seen a suitcase type trap or used one you would wonder why these would not be banned either. The springs are 50 times stronger than both traps being discussed and require a grown man to use all his weight and strength just to set the trap. Once this trap is set with its large metal frame if it closes on a body part there is a good chance that there will be broken bones.

Coyotes are managed using foothold traps. The animal rights extremist always state that these traps are banned in this many states and countries, so looking at the history of where these are banned in the US a logical person looking at all the media attention would see that coyote attacks are on the rise in these states, and states that allow the use of these traps have none or very few incidents of coyotes attacking people or pets. For example California has banned foothold traps for over 20 years, there has been 1 fatality and between 2012 and 2016 there have been 50 coyote attacks in Southern California alone in which a person was bitten. Connecticut’s neighbor, Rhode Island which must be like a sanctuary city for coyotes that immigrate there from Connecticut has been having an increasing problem with coyotes. Residents are having their companion animals snatched right from the leashes as they are walking them. The residents are arming themselves with bats and clubs to fend off the offending coyotes. What a ban on these traps will mean to Connecticut, loss of public service where really needed, instead of a police officer responding to essential calls, they will responding to calls for help from residents with coyotes. The Department of Energy and Environment Protection will be responding to more calls to remove the offending coyotes. In California police departments have personnel to track coyote movements and are also eradicating the offending coyote which in turn cost the taxpayer money.

Below are some current events regarding coyote attacks.

Caught on Video: Coyote Leaps Into Home's Backyard, Bites Dog Published Jan 19, 2019 at 6:08 AM https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Dog-Attacked-by-Coyote-Valencia- 504590852.html

A dog was attacked by a coyote that jumped over the fence into the backyard of a home in Valencia, California. A video showed a pair of dogs observing a coyote that was looking over the backyard when it jumped over and confronted a dog named Kirin. After the coyote bit Kirin's face, the dog was taken to Valencia Veterinary Center for treatment.

Southern California coyote attacks from August 2012 to August 2016 PUBLISHED: June 7, 2017 at 2:53 pm | UPDATED: June 7, 2017 at 4:56 pm https://www.ocregister.com/2017/06/07/southern-california-coyote-attacks-from-august- 2012-to-august-2016/

Between August 2012 and August 2016 there have been 50 coyote attacks in Southern California in which a person was bitten.

Why California officials are killing coyote, after coyote, after coyote March 15, 2018 https://www.scpr.org/news/2018/03/15/81707/what-happens-when-a-coyote-bites-a- person/

On Wednesday night, a 5-year-old boy was walking with his father on the campus of Cal State Los Angeles when a coyote came up from behind and bit him on the leg. The boy went to the hospital and likely received a rabies shot.

In California, coyotes have the same legal status as pigeons and rats. They’re considered “non-game animals,” which means anyone can kill as many of them as they want, at any time of year. There are some restrictions: it's illegal to poison them or capture them with a leg-hold trap.

In an interview with KPCC last April, Niamh Quinn, who studies coyote-human interaction at the University of California Cooperative Extension in Orange County, said killing coyotes does not reduce their overall number, because it creates a vacuum that other coyotes move in to fill. Rather, she said, the aim is to eliminate problem coyotes, and hope that whatever coyotes move in to an area next won’t be as aggressive.

After each coyote they kill, DFW officers and trappers take a saliva or tissue sample and look for a genetic match to the sample from the pants of the boy who was bitten. “If it’s the first coyote we capture, we’ll cease operations,” said Healy. But if not, they’ll keep going. They can trap and kill up to half a dozen coyotes a time, looking for the culprit. “Sometimes it takes one, two, three nights.”

Westerly residents concerned about growing coyote population Tuesday, October 30th 2018 https://turnto10.com/news/local/westerly-residents-concerned-about-growing-coyote- population "I said to myself, ‘This is nuts. I'm in my neighborhood and I'm afraid to go out at night because of my dog being attacked and I'm carrying a bat,’" said Rob Saglio, a long-time Westerly resident.

"Not too long ago, one of my neighbors was looking out of their window and told me they assumed my neighbor Barbara had two dogs because she had one dog on a leash in front of her and a dog in back of her without realizing it was a coyote," said Saglio. "The coyote was stalking her and the coyote ran around her and attacked the dog on the leash." speaking with Westerly's Animal Control Officer Arthur Smith, Saglio believes there are at least nine coyote dens in Westerly. "We discovered by having 400 pairs of eyes in the town of Westerly that we have a much bigger problem than anybody ever thought," said Saglio.

Coywolves: A threatening predator is lurking in RI, MA backyards Monday, October 29th 2018 https://turnto10.com/i-team/coywolves-a-threatening-predator-is-lurking-in- ri-ma-backyards It's a cold October night and Tyler, a 9-month-old Plott hound mix, has been lost near Albro Woods in Middletown for four days. “It's becoming a bigger and bigger and bigger problem in this area,” said Jamie Genereux, a professional pet tracker who captured the standoff. Genereux said encounters between eastern coyotes -- some people call them coywolves -- and pets are becoming far too common. After several years tracking lost pets -- many snatched by coyotes -- Genereux said he's noticed some alarming behavioral changes. “Ten years ago, the only dogs getting eaten by coyotes would be 10 to 15 pounds, you know?” he said. “Now, we've had them kill a German shepherd, which is a big dog.”

Respctfully Thomas Logan Jr. 1655 North Ave. Stratford, CT 06614