Ethical dellima and we are perplexed about killing raccoons

[Ted n Ms]

I'm not into being cruel either. However, I choose my animals life over the rights of a predator. That is not meant to be sarcastic, just how I feel. I've had great success with a type of foot-hold trap I mentioned in another post. It cannot and will not catch anyone's cat or dog. But is does a very good job of catching coons and possums. Several manufacturers make similar traps and, you can find them at any trapping supply website.

http://www.rpoutdoors.com/dudpcotr.html

I use a mixture of strawberry preserves and ground-up fish for bait. Spread a couple of dollops of this mixture around the trap to give them an idea what this fabulous treat taste like and bingo!

I buy these traps for 12.50 each.

 

[Koipondduck]

Thanks guys no raccooms for me for three weeks. Every thing is safe and my birds are so happy that they flock around in the water, eat and I just go there to give them more meal worms etc.

I am stress free for coupld of days. My mallards will not go in but they are pretty fast and pond being right in the front, any time I try to heard them, they go in the water. I am hoping if one of these days, a single raccoom does cime, then they will do the same. If they do not , oh well, I have given 100% to get them to safety. As Nan says, they are ducks, they do not have to listen to us an dthey love to sleep under the sky.

 

[Mike Winters]

why are people so against killing things. death is just as important if not more to the cycle of life then life its self. if nothing died or decayed the world would be 100 miles deep in every thing that ever lived. with out it there is no reason for life to reproduce, evolve, or adapt and surviving something terrible wouldn't be such a big achievement now would it

 

[chooniecat]

I am not against killing its just disturbing to see such joy at killing and anger at the predator. We need to temper the anger and be as HUMANE as possible at the killing tho. Wild animals can be discouraged and if you KNOW they are in overabundance then maybe consider killing(not drowning either....too horrific if you ask me) Cats/dogs can be dealt with humanely also(stop them from being so easily obtained for ONE-spay/neuter)(and that may include killing) but there are SO many variances on what people think that WHATEVER you choose BE HUMANE.

 

[bayareapilot]

It is actually rather fast... especially if the water is cold - easily less than a minute. You immerse the trap so it is completely immersed in water. Typically the shock alone, kills very quickly. With a gun shot (assuming you live in an area where you can discharge a firearm) you have to make sure the shot is well-placed; anything less and the animal suffers while you are trying to get a good shot.

 

[donnavee]

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.

X2

 

[missnu01]

Raccoons are not a protected species, they are not endangered, they are a nuisance predator and terribly unsafe to have around...loading one up and relocating it is a terrible thing to do for whoever lives where you let it out at...Just kill them...They are a hazard, and don't do anything good for anyone...THey are just large rats...nobody every wonders what to do with rats..they poison and kill them...Nuisance vermin need no leeway. They multiply faster than people can kill them off, so have at it. Remember the black plague? Spread by rats? Raccoons are no different. Endangered species are animals that are dying faster than breeding, and should be protected, but this is definitely not the case with rabies spreading raccoons...Also did you know that having raccoons around your property can be so very very dangerous, if for no other reason than the fact that raccoons leave poops, and those poops are full of parasites and bacteria that can eat holes in your brain...so forget all that...

 

[zazouse]

Or get a dog

I agree, i have never lost a chicken to a coon and i have had them here at my place for 35 years, my dogs take care of trespassers so i don't have to do the dirty work.

 

[missnu01]

I agree, i have never lost a chicken to a coon and i have had them here at my place for 35 years, my dogs take care of trespassers so i don't have to do the dirty work.

Those are some super awesome dogs you have! High Five!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Death is the default condition of all life. Neither you, your neighbor, little less the coons she befriends will escape the death sentence we all receive at birth..

Here is the dilemma:
Is it better to kill a few local 'hick' coons to pare the population down to what the ecosystem can feed without the coons becoming dependent on your chickens or your neighbors' kindness for food?

Or is it better to double, then tipple, and double and finally triple again the bear, mountain lion, and wild wolf populations so these apex predators can act as a check on coons, lonely old women, joggers, and 8 year old children playing too close to the woods?

Playing the who or what was here first game is a lame attempt to arrive at what ever outcome that you've already decided you want. Where does this start or stop, with T-Rexes, giant ground sloths, terrordactyls or passenger pigeons?

Coons, especially on the East Coast are lousy with rabies. The plan that the government came up with called for carpet bombing a wide strip from the South East Atlantic coast up through New England with baits that contained an oral rabies vaccine. Then each year the treated area would shift further East as rabies in coons was wiped out in the Appalachian Mountain area and each year the treated area would keep shifting further East until (I guess) all the rabid coons had been driven into the Atlantic ocean. Sounds good doesn't it?

The reality is that the treated or beaten area keeps moving further West each year in a vain attempt to stop rabies in the coons that made an end run around the vaccine program. I believe that Ohio is now in the bomb sight. As we move wildlife around willy neile with no plans or good reasons, your doing more harm than good.

You may well be moving a rabid coon into an area where rabies in coons is unknown. Or you could just as well be re-introducing rabies back into an area where rabies was eliminated. Don't, don't, don't relocate wildlife on your own.