Coyotes terrorizing Detroit community

DETROIT, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Three wild coyotes have managed to elude traps while prowling throughout a gated Detroit community, a city public safety official says.

Detroit Public Safety Director Stephen Poloni said previous attempts to capture the wild animals plaguing the Grosse Pointe Shores community have failed, leading to the consideration of hiring sharpshooters to eliminate the coyote threat, The Detroit News said Friday.

"At this point, we're trying everything we can to trap them," Poloni said, adding sharpshooters "may be a last resort."

Scoped rifles are set to be used in the city of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., to eliminate coyotes blamed for the deaths of two area pets. The city's public safety director approved the effort in light of the slow deaths the coyotes could suffer if steel traps were employed.

Poloni told the Detroit News that if the decision is made to employ sharpshooters against the Grosse Pointe coyotes, that move must first be approved by the Detroit City Council.