Wildlife officials suggested that airport personnel could hunt or trap coyotes year-round, because there are no “bag limits” on taking the animals that way, Kohler said Tuesday, June 15.
Fences that the Dayton-owned airport has installed at its perimeter likely will keep the problem from recurring, he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration requires airports to keep runways free of animals because they could pose risks to safe operation of aircraft.
According to an injury investigation report, Dayton airport employee Randall Murph was hurt chasing a coyote from a runway on April 22 when his airport vehicle overturned on wet grass.
Airport officials said they had investigated a separate incident two days earlier in which employees had chased an injured coyote from the airfield. Airport staff later located the injured animal and it was killed, an airport official said.
Airport employees equipped with radios to communicate with the air traffic control tower do drive along runways and honk horns to scare away animals that air traffic controllers have called attention to, said Walter Krygowski, Dayton’s interim director of aviation. But airport policy doesn’t permit inhumane treatment of animals, Krygowski said.
The airport works with the FAA, state wildlife authorities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture on proper animal-control procedures, Krygowski said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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