I have lost several good broody bantams, as well as a few adult hens, to opossums. And opossums, like raccoons, have enjoyed increases in their populations due to development in their habitat. Their predators have been scared away and they find easy access to an abundance of food around people's homes. They're so well fed that they have larger litters. There will be more where that one came from.
The folks I know who dispatch by drowning say it's a quick and therefore humane method. They advise securing the door to the trap with zip-ties or bits of wire, to insure the animal doesn't escape. They have containers, barrels or big garbage cans, that they know are large enough to fully submerge the trap into. They are careful to have the container filled with water before sliding the trap in under the water, so the animal doesn't have the long frightening experience of having the water slowly rising around them. They say it takes less than one minute for the animal to die.
The folks I know who dispatch by drowning say it's a quick and therefore humane method. They advise securing the door to the trap with zip-ties or bits of wire, to insure the animal doesn't escape. They have containers, barrels or big garbage cans, that they know are large enough to fully submerge the trap into. They are careful to have the container filled with water before sliding the trap in under the water, so the animal doesn't have the long frightening experience of having the water slowly rising around them. They say it takes less than one minute for the animal to die.
