In most places it is highly illegal to release raccoons.
What does "highly illegal" mean? Is this as opposed to some lower form of illegality. However, this simply is not true. It is not illegal to relocate a raccoon from your farm to another place farther out in the country.
What does "highly illegal" mean? Is this as opposed to some lower form of illegality. However, this simply is not true. It is not illegal to relocate a raccoon from your farm to another place farther out in the country.
But the biggest issue for most chicken-owning folks on this forum is that it's extremely inconsiderate to release a predatory animal, especially one who is now trap-wary, into someone else's neighborhood. One man's middle-of-nowhere is another man's property line. Follow the Golden Rule. Would you want others releasing raccoons anywhere near your property?
Raccoons do not become trap weary from getting caught one time. I have caught the same one over and over. Everyone does not own chickens. There are plenty of national & state forests near just about everyone OR river land [as is mentioned] owned by the state or the electric or timber companies. People almost LIVE EVERYWHERE but not quite. If I did not own chickens I would not mind someone releasing a raccoon in my neighborhood. They're already here anyway.
Raccoons do not become trap weary from getting caught one time. I have caught the same one over and over. Everyone does not own chickens. There are plenty of national & state forests near just about everyone OR river land [as is mentioned] owned by the state or the electric or timber companies. People almost LIVE EVERYWHERE but not quite. If I did not own chickens I would not mind someone releasing a raccoon in my neighborhood. They're already here anyway.
But the biggest issue for most chicken-owning folks on this forum is that it's extremely inconsiderate to release a predatory animal, especially one who is now trap-wary, into someone else's neighborhood. One man's middle-of-nowhere is another man's property line. Follow the Golden Rule. Would you want others releasing raccoons anywhere near your property?
Rabies is not as common a threat as many of you wish to believe. Yes, death at the hand of man is all too common. It led to the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon, the Carolina Parakeet, and almost the American Bison all of which are American indigenous species & which numbered in the millions (billions for the P. Pigeon). When someone asks those of you who shoot everything (if it just looks at your chickens), how to go about dispatching the predator, all of you are happy to tell how to do that & how you did it, BUT let a person like Country4ever ask some simple questions on catch and release and you all go about saying it's "highly illegal" best to shoot it while it is trapped, blah, blah, blah. Country4 ever didn't ask how to kill it or whether she should kill it. Please respect that as well.
Country4ever: I have caught and released animals, and I have also shot them. It depends on what they are doing. If they are in the process of attacking my chickens, then I shoot. Otherwise, I catch & release. I take them to a Nat'l Forest or an area where there are no homes or subdivisions for miles, in the middle of nowhere in the woods by a large stream & turn loose. If in the same sector of your State, there is little chance of your spreading some raccoon disease to other raccoons & animals. Believe me, the raccoon or other wild animal will run from you so no need to be scared of it chasing you. It will be scared while it is in the cage so just don't put your fingers in there. I have also caught Cottonmouths (Water Moccasins) in areas where people frequent, and I have likewise, even released them in a creek in the middle of nowhere (where they are not a danger to anyone). There is nothing illegal, highly or otherwise, about catching and releasing. And it is OK to respect all life.
I always wear my leather gloves just in case of an accident. The Cottonmouths (ALL) even took off in a hurry.
Chris
Rabies is not as common a threat as many of you wish to believe. Yes, death at the hand of man is all too common. It led to the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon, the Carolina Parakeet, and almost the American Bison all of which are American indigenous species & which numbered in the millions (billions for the P. Pigeon). When someone asks those of you who shoot everything (if it just looks at your chickens), how to go about dispatching the predator, all of you are happy to tell how to do that & how you did it, BUT let a person like Country4ever ask some simple questions on catch and release and you all go about saying it's "highly illegal" best to shoot it while it is trapped, blah, blah, blah. Country4 ever didn't ask how to kill it or whether she should kill it. Please respect that as well.
Country4ever: I have caught and released animals, and I have also shot them. It depends on what they are doing. If they are in the process of attacking my chickens, then I shoot. Otherwise, I catch & release. I take them to a Nat'l Forest or an area where there are no homes or subdivisions for miles, in the middle of nowhere in the woods by a large stream & turn loose. If in the same sector of your State, there is little chance of your spreading some raccoon disease to other raccoons & animals. Believe me, the raccoon or other wild animal will run from you so no need to be scared of it chasing you. It will be scared while it is in the cage so just don't put your fingers in there. I have also caught Cottonmouths (Water Moccasins) in areas where people frequent, and I have likewise, even released them in a creek in the middle of nowhere (where they are not a danger to anyone). There is nothing illegal, highly or otherwise, about catching and releasing. And it is OK to respect all life.
I always wear my leather gloves just in case of an accident. The Cottonmouths (ALL) even took off in a hurry.
Chris
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