A Laguna Hills family says they tried to solve a simple, ugly problem: coyotes were coming over the backyard fence and killing their goats. Their fix—raising the fence—stopped the attacks, they say. But it also triggered a lawsuit from their homeowners association over the fence height, according to the original post.
Steve and Karen Blume live on a one-acre property in Nellie Gail Ranch. Steve Blume described the aftermath of the attacks as something no pet owner wants to see, and said the coyotes killed seven goats, creating what he viewed as an urgent situation that demanded immediate action.
Seven goats killed, and a fence that coyotes treated like nothing
Blume said the coyotes were “just jumping over the fence” and killing the goats. In neighborhoods that back up to open space—or anywhere wildlife gets comfortable—folks often learn the hard way that “standard” fencing doesn’t always mean “effective” fencing.
For the Blumes, the turning point came after repeated losses. Blume said the coyotes killed seven of the family’s goats, which they considered beloved pets. With that, the fence stopped being a normal home-improvement project and became, in their mind, a safety measure.
The upgrades came in steps: higher mesh, blinking lights, then an angled top
Blume said the property originally had a six-foot fence. To keep coyotes out, he raised it with mesh to eight feet. When that still didn’t work, he added blinking lights in another attempt to deter the animals…