Another coon goes for a ''ride''

mmtillman

Songster
11 Years
Jan 6, 2009
969
10
151
Southwest MO near the ARK line
This is the 3rd coon we have trapped in a week !!! .....this is getting expensive, gas wise, taking each of our 'captors' into the forest far from people with chickens .....we live in the edge of the Mark Twain Nat' Forest. We drive back about 6-8 miles and turn them loose in a creek bed...I had to laugh at my husband...he insist we give them each a drink of water before we take them for the long ride in the pickup.....even tho this creek is running all year long!
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Since this is getting to be common place....we are making a ritual of packing a picnic to take along on these excursions to the forest and enjoy the meal on the tailgate as we watch our prisoner lumber away to his new home!
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I hope a game warden catches you "relocating" one of these coons. In most states it is illegal (not to mention immoral) to relocate coons. I would bet that the coons are back to their original territory shortly after you finish your picnic. If you aren't able to do the correct thing and euthanize them, quit bothering to trap them.
 
If you aren't able to do the correct thing and euthanize them, quit bothering to trap them.

Agreed. Even if they don't come back to you, they end up back bothering someone. Stop dropping your problems off for other people to deal with. Be responsible, euth the coons. Or stop putting them through the trauma of the transport and just predator proof your coop and leave them be.​
 
Amen to the good advice you have received so far.

Your National Forest is not Disneyland, where all the animals play together and act nice. When you introduce one of your relocated coons to an unfamiliar territory, not only will the animal find its way back to where it was trapped if it wants to, it also will fight will and KILL the resident coon and all THAT animal's cute little babies if it can.

DON'T RELOCATE! It's not fair to the animals or the neighbors near where you drop the pests off. If you're horrified when people drop off unwanted cats and dogs in YOUR neighborhood, you should be equally upset when coons are dropped off, too.

Call your local Animal Control and do the right thing.
 
OK....I totally admit...everyone one of you are right....
Until we trapped these 3 coons, this week, we had not seen or trapped more then a neighbors cat or an occasional possum in our yard or trap for years.
Till this week , the last coon we trapped was a couple of years ago. And back before then, we always dispatched each one we trapped.

I guess in my old age I have mellowed some and thought we could justify not killing them? In hindsight, I know, I was wrong.

I should clarify, this Nat Forest is not like, IN my back yard. It is 30 miles away, with a State Park between us and the forest....so I, in my dumb reasoning, I assumed the coons would be atleast 10-20 miles from any residences, since the State park borders the Forest land where there are no residents, the further you travel back into the woods.

My husband and I have picniced, hiked and camped in those woods for 20+ years and they are truely wilderness.
And, I wrongly 'assumed' the coons would just acclimate to the new and better surroundings, with water available yearlong, live on crawdads in the creek, and never want to leave the forest......my bad.

I have hens, have had for years...We built a fort knox coop after coons killed our first flock 10 years ago .
I have been on BYC for years...so I should KNOW better....I guess I let my husbands soft heart, and my own assumptions lead my thinking that this was ok....

I promise......... I have taken your comments in stride and to heart, and understand how upsetting this was ....I will no longer relocate any coons we trap....I will do what is right ....thanks for setting me straight....I have just not dealt with any predators in so long I lost sight of the big picture.
 
MMTillman, you are indeed an honorable and wise human being. That was a thoughtful response, and I am so impressed I plan to start working on curing my own bad habits...tomorrow.
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Hi: Hope I wasn't too hard on you, but I really wanted to get my point across. No offense I hope. I understand your dilemma. It's never easy to kill something, especially when it's defenseless in a trap. However, I have lost so many expensive birds to coons that I have come to really hate them. We have tremendous numbers of them here, and they are very destructive to crops, birds, and even buildings. They often spend winters denned up with skunks, and come out in the spring with rabies. Neighbors have lost cattle to rabid coon bites, and that gets very expensive. Good luck!
 

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