By Sheila McLaughlin
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MADEIRA - Coyotes facing the rifle in Blue Ash take heed: Head south.

The wild canines got a reprieve in Madeira Monday night when council rejected shooting or trapping to resolve a resident's concern that coyotes heard howling in the woods near Camargo Canyon might attack cats and small children.

A single complaint doesn't constitute a problem, said city officials, although they'll try to keep tabs on the elusive predators.

"You can kill them, but you have no idea how many there are, where they are coming from, and you have one person who is baiting them with their cat," Councilman Rob Steier said, referring to the resident who lets her cats run loose.

Officials agreed that killing coyotes would be useless because breeding habits and migration would eventually bring them back to Madeira.

"I don't think we need to rush in and euthanize or hunt animals or bring somebody in to hunt specifically an animal that is not a nuisance," said Councilwoman Sarah Evans, a former parks naturalist.

Even though the city isn't taking action for now, residents won't be allowed to take aim because discharging firearms and hunting violates city law, City Manager Tom Moeller noted.

Residents can acquire state permission to trap coyotes or hire a professional to do it, he suggested. The animals have to be euthanized because state law prohibits trapped wildlife from being released anywhere else.

Moeller turned to Blue Ash for advice after learning that Police Chief Chris Wallace shot and killed seven "problem" coyotes thought to be mauling small dogs, killing cats and approaching residents in their yards. He proposed to council that Wallace was willing to hunt Madeira's coyotes.

Springdale also has used sharpshooters to control its coyote population and Fairfield, in Butler County, recently passed legislation to trap and kill the creatures.

Madeira residents were missing from Monday's meeting.

Debbie Waller, who asked city officials to do something because her kids were nervous about their cats, expressed concern Tuesday that the area eventually will be overrun by coyotes.

"They are in Blue Ash, Madeira, Fairfield, Montgomery. They are all over," Waller said.

"I don't know what the answer is. The price to be paid is the loss of a lot of pets when the population increases."

E-mail smclaughlin@enquirer.com