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CHICAGO -- Instead of trying to control urban coyotes a Chicago alderman wants them to help with the city’s rat problem.

The proposal still has a ways to go before it would be implemented.

Coyote sighting are fairly common in the Chicago area and Animal Control has been called numerous times to deal with them.

But Alderman Brian Hopkins wants Chicago to have a hands off approach to urban coyotes and allow them to help the city. He says he knows part of getting this policy passed will be to calm peoples natural concerns about coyotes.

“Coyotes are afraid of people,” Hopkins said. “They want to avoid us and they won’t harm a pet if a person is nearby.”

The alderman says the animals are extremely hard to catch and if tranquilized, usually don’t survive long after. So if people report one, the alderman says Animal cCntrol should tell them they are safe and just leave the coytoes alone.

“For 99 percent of the coyotes in the city they are not harming people not harming pets they are helping us control the rat population.”

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