Lake Standoff Ends With Coots Killed, Activist Jailed

The coots of Rancho Santa Margarita were dead center in a testy standoff Tuesday between a trio of animal-rights activists, sheriff’s deputies and a company hired to kill the water birds at the planned community’s artificial lake.

One activist was arrested and as many as 200 of the birds were killed. But accounts differed over the day’s events, which capped a two-week debate over the birds’ fate.

That debate began Jan. 13 after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a national animal-rights group, objected to plans for killing the birds. Property managers said the birds were fouling the lake and surrounding lawns with their droppings and costing thousands of dollars in maintenance.

Tuesday’s confrontation marked the unraveling of what activists last week said was an agreement with Merit Property Management, which provides community services to the local homeowners association, and Dan Fox, the owner of the company hired to remove the birds.

PETA representatives claimed the property managers agreed on Jan. 20 that nonlethal attempts would be made to rid the community lake of the birds.

But Fox and one board member say it was only agreed that the association would consider other measures and not shoot or poison the birds. The following day, property managers recommended against the alternatives and the board voted to proceed with the coot killing, said board member Beverly Curtin.

“In that discussion they realized that those nonlethal measures were not going to work for this year,” said Curtin, one of seven on the board. Alternative measures--such as bringing in dogs to chase the birds away--work only if they are introduced before the birds settle in for the year, she said.

Merit had the permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which issues depredation permits to property owners, to kill the birds. The permits are issued after the owner has demonstrated that other nonlethal measures have been tried and failed. The board maintains that its other efforts to shoo away the birds, from harassing and chasing them to weed killers that would remove their food source, have failed.

Early Tuesday morning, Fox and his workers began feeding tranquilizer-laced bread and corn to birds at the lake. Later they gathered the unconscious birds and took them away to be killed.

The operation was interrupted about 8 a.m., when PETA’s Orange County staff member attempted to save the birds by chasing them into the water. Jane Garrison, 32, of Fullerton was jailed by sheriff’s deputies on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing, Sheriff’s Lt. Hector Rivera said. She was released 11 hours later.

A trespasser typically would be cited at the scene, but Garrison insisted on being taken into custody, Rivera said.

Garrison disputed that account. “That’s absurd. I was out trying to rescue poisoned birds. Why would I want to be arrested and interrupt that?”