California Cities Pay Violent Felon Who Kills Coyotes in Gas Chambers Near Homes

For Immediate Release:
February 6, 2025

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

Following a whistleblower tip, PETA has learned that the cities of Torrance, Rancho Palos Verdes, and Anaheim are paying a violent convicted felon who has repeatedly broken state trapping laws  and who has trapped and killed coyotes near residents’ homes using a gas chamber in the back of his truck—with Anaheim even cutting him checks paid for by taxpayer dollars while he was apparently serving jail time. PETA is calling on city officials to end their cruel, wasteful, and ineffective coyote trapping programs.

Public records reviewed by PETA show no indication that officials in any of the cities conducted background checks on the trapper—Jimmie Rizzo of Coyote, Wildlife & Pest Solutions Inc.—who was convicted of assault with a semiautomatic weapon and exhibiting a loaded firearm at a daycare center in Orange County just a few years before the cities awarded him the contracts. Shortly after securing the contract from Anaheim, Rizzo was sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating his formal probation—time he would have served while being paid to provide trapping services.

PETA notes that in addition to being cruel and ineffective, the cities’ continued killing of coyotes comes at a time when California’s wildlife needs the most support. An untold number of the state’s cherished “song dogs” were undoubtedly injured, killed, or displaced as the recent wildfires tore through their homes, and the destruction has severely threatened local ecosystems—with potentially long-term consequences.

PETA pointed out to the cities that even though Rizzo has broken state trapping laws on multiple occasions, there’s no indication that officials in Anaheim or Rancho Palos Verdes monitor Rizzo’s activities or even know where he’s placing the traps or using his gas chamber. Officials in Torrance, meanwhile, appear to have even instructed Rizzo to place the traps near residents’ homes without consent—making the city potentially criminally liable for violations of state trapping law.

“These cities are contracting a violent felon who gasses coyotes to death near people’s homes, and they’re paying him with taxpayer money to boot,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “PETA is calling on city leaders to get their heads on straight, remove this criminal from their payrolls, and end their indefensible slaughter of California’s wildlife.”

The cities’ coyote-trapping programs previously prompted PETA to file a petition for rulemaking calling for statewide regulations that would ban gassing coyotes to death and prohibit cities from contracting with private trappers who trap and kill coyotes on public land.

Snare traps are wire loops that wrap around an animal’s neck and strangle them as they struggle. PETA notes that nearly 70% of snare traps don’t work as intended, as they can ensnare any animal—including dogs roaming off-leash. In addition to being cruel, snare traps and other lethal methods are ineffective, since coyotes may move in from outlying areas as long as food sources remain available.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kitsfor people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.