Ethical dellima and we are perplexed about killing raccoons

I am replying to a member's thread since he/she mentioned that after catching a raccoon, it busted the cage door and escaped and I am adding our ethical. philosophical dilemma about killing raccoon. Please advise. We are not Buddhist but we have several Buddhist statues around our huge Koi pond since Buddha figurines are very peaceful looking that provides an Asian look to our garden..... .

Same thing happen to me. One raccoon busted through the cage door and escaped. Then I went and got a huge cage from Medina Tractor supply and guess what, my friend tells me that "nothing gets killed in the property" so after catching a "huge" raccoon, and battling over if we should drown it in a tub of water or release it somewhere ( which some say is legal and some say illegal), we released the Raccoon back in the back yard. So far raccoon did not kill any thing in our yard. They were coming up in the broad day light and my neighbor feeds these raccoon. She said she stopped it but I see here every day walking back feeding these raccoons.


Anyway, I told my friend that now we have to make a ethical judgment call. According to my friend that Raccoons were here before purchasing the property in 2003 ,but I just got into mandarin ducks and some Pin-tails. Also couples of mallards ( reared domestically and given to me by a local young man) are outside ducks since you can not have mandarins and Pin-tails outside the cage I also like these mallards since they follow us around the yard and play in the stream. . Well, we are perplexed what we should be doing with our raccoons and "Yes I know so far any one I met told me they killed them". We ran several businesses and I bought and sold real estates. Then I completed MBA/MPA, I also feel bad killing these raccoons. The reason I mention my accomplishments since I am thinking what is wrong with our “philosophical l outlook “ and this ethical dilemma when everybody else are killing raccoons.


Yes, wer are aware that if you cath it , you must kill it. Any deeper explanation on this?

I think you are asking why some people think that raccoons should be killed while others (your neighbor & friend) say it is unethical? That is probably something that you will have to work out for yourself. I see both sides.

My raccoons are fairly new to my property - have only been here for a couple of years. The fox for maybe 5 years. I am going to try to live with them, but will have to make a fortress of a coop. If it doesn't work, the raccoons will be caught and given to an acquaintance who likes to eat them. We really like the foxes, so I'm not sure what I will do if we can't figure out a way to live with them.

In your case, you want ducks that you can't protect from the raccoons. Sounds to me that you have a choice between getting rid of the raccoons or rehoming the ducks.

Relocating raccoons is illegal in many areas but I think it's a matter of local law. In many cases, if animal control picks up an animal like a raccoon, they kill it. Be careful handling them; you can get a nasty parasite just from touching them. It's even happened to a child who played where raccoons had been hanging out.

If you choose not to kill, the only other option where they are common, really, is keeping them fenced out, and that takes a very secure, strong pen.

Or get a dog

Koipondduck said:

...ethical. philosophical dilemma about killing raccoon...my friend tells me that "nothing gets killed in the property" ...we have to make a ethical judgment call....

Click to expand...

Are you and your friend vegetarians. No? So it's OK to kill a cow for a barbecued steak but not OK to kill a coon to protect your live stock?

Or because the Bear was in the forest preserve first, you friend would not want you to kill the bear as the bear is mauling your friend?

You could do as I do. To protect my herd of chickens I relocate every coon I possibly can to Coon Dog heaven.

We all have our own sense of right or wrong. We each have our own morality. What's right for me might not be right for you. What's wrong for your friend might not be wrong for you. From what you said, your friend is lying to you, still feeding the raccoons though denying it. Where is the morality in that?

Raccoons are not an endangered species. That argument is out the window. It is not valid.

I don't know how you feel about the sanctity of all life. For some, it is OK to take a life for some reasons but not for others. I can clearly see a difference in killing for food and killing for sport. I can see a difference in killing to protect versus random killing.

Some people feel that the animal was here before humans so they have priority. I don't agree. We've altered the environment. Many animals that were here before are not around anymore and some that have adapted to the new environment have gotten out of hand. Our local deer herd would be a lot healthier if their numbers were controlled, for example.

I put human safety above any animal's life. To me, humans have priority. This does not condone cruelty to animals, but if there is a choice, there is no choice for me.

Raccons thrive around humans. You'd be amazed how many live in suburban areas, denning in any bit of greenland, abandoned buildings, wherever and using storm sewers as highways to get around. You will never kill out every raccoon. You can reduce the numbers and remove the ones that are using your property as a hunting ground, but there are others that will move into empty territory. Removing some does reduce the pressure on yor flock, but it does not give 100% protection. I once removed over 50 squirrels from my suburban back yard in less than a month. I did not have 50 squirrels living there, but as I removed them, others moved in. I even go tmy neighbor hooked on trapping squirrels. He claimed to remove well over 100 in about three months, but he was releasing them in a nearby park. He was not really reducing the local population pressure. The ones I removed were removed.

You have to set your own priorities, decide what is important to you. You can maybe try one thing and if it does not work, try something different. I'm not going to try to force you to my morality. It's your choice, not anyone else's.

My kids often remind me how odd I am that I have choosen not to eat meat,and yet our yard is a dead zone for any predator that chooses to enter. It is a choice I have made,and I am comfortable with it. I have a friend who eats mostly meat diet and she would save every darn animal there is.Best friends we are,but on this matter we are polars.We respect each other enough to where we are at a point where we do not argue over what the other does.She does not put me down,nor do I her.We both know we can not change the other,and certainly can not tell the other what they *should* do.

If you don't want to do the deed I think you should pay someone to trap and do whatever with the coons.The coons may or may not have been there before you bought the land,but to me that does not mean tolerating them if they are causing issues.

To me there is also the concern of roundworms besides the predator threat.I want to reduce that threat since about 80-90% carry the parasite,and they are dropping thousands of eggs daily in their poo.Have you seen what roundworms can do once inside you? Nasty stuff.

I would contact the state wildlife to get the low down on why coons must be killed and not relocated.A fence just might help you for a while.It did for me until the groundhog chewed a hole through it,and then it was a river into the yard of coons,possums,and groundhogs.

Again I would hire someone to trap and take away anything.If you can't kill predators,but you allow them to kill YOUR animals then once the livestock defense fail repeatidly I would say no more livestock.Coons even love those koi a lot too. If you get caught relocating coons I am not sue if you will be fined.l did relocate a mouse the other day,and all went well,lol.

Coons really poop up those traps,which makes transport a messy, smelly deed.Hire someone.

For the traps I would recommend zip ties on the back door.It is illegal to feed wildlife other than birds.Contact the city about it.I recall a few people in the Ohio news that were charged with feeding deer.Lots of people do it,but if someone reports the offender the city will make a buck off them with the fine.Knowing the ticks and roundworms most coons carry(plus rabies sometimes) I think it is irresponsible that your neighbor actually feeds them.Babies sure are cute,but I would not want them hanging in my yard and getting up in population thanks to my neighbor.

Best wishes whatever YOU decide is the best route in protecting your animals.

I agree that one should never take joy in killing. Having said that I will ask one question, "Do you feel bad about swatting a mosquito or fly? How about cockroaches?"

A life is a life and no one life is more important to the holder than another.

Since we all have livestock here, and most probably have dogs, cats, children and other critters, we have to weigh the big picture when deciding how to handle predators. If you live in a rural area like I do, pest animals become a real problem and need to be dealt with.

There are 5 animals that I will dispose of on sight, because they carry rabies and can pass it along by biting, even if the animal shows no sign of having the disease. CARRIER means just that. Like typhoid Mary, they can pass along the disease without having it themselves. If you have children, this is even more worrysome. The top carriers/passers of rabies (In no particular order) are:

1) Racoons
2) Skunks
3) Foxes
4) Bats

In my area (Connecticut) rabid coyotes are a big problem, attacking and killing dogs, cats, children, and even full-grown human adults, so they are also on my "dispose of on sight" list.

Ethics are fine, but the lives of my family, friends, and pets come first. Just my experience and opinion.

We are of the mind that since humans have so thoroughly invaded wild animals' territory we can't just kill them for going after easy prey. However we are strongly in the minority. I would ask however that if you do catch and kill you use firearms or some method more humane than drowning. Can you imagine death by drowning. Not quick or painless...one of the least humane ways to kill an animal in my opinion.