I caught a raccoon!! Now what???

[mountainlover]

Last night I threw in a fresh handful of marshmallows and had moved the trap almost a week ago so no pics on my crummy game cam but...I caught him and he's big and ugly. Problem is, yesterday it was in the high 60s and last night a cold front came through and now it's only 14 with a nasty wind chill of -7 and being just a mama to five babies, I'm feeling sorry for it. It's out there cold and curled up in a ball with snow blowing and it's back has frost. I can't kill anything but my dad can. He's an hour away though and he's "thinking about when he can come over". Should I just leave it there!????

 

[Ridgerunner]

Let’s see. You won’t kill it yourself but you don’t mind if someone else does. I don’t think you want to turn it loose on your property. Besides it being illegal there are a whole lot of reasons to not take if several miles away and release it. What other restrictions do you have to make it harder to come up with a solution? Oh, yeah, you feel sorry for it.

My only suggestion is to call your animal control and see if they will do anything. For most of us that won’t be any help, but maybe you are in one of those areas where animal control will help with something like this.

 

[mountainlover]

Wow, you're nice. I am just asking if I can leave it there for a while until my dad comes and he will shoot it. But I didn't need someone to be rude to me.

 

[scott4030]

Hi Mountainlover,

I think the point is this: Since someone is about to come over and kill it for you, what difference does it make if it is cold right now? The question of "is it ok to leave it?" doesn't really matter. The thing is going to be dead soon.

I was going to reply that "it should be fine", Raccoons can deal with the cold. But it really doesn't matter.

Don't get me wrong, I hate the things. Trap and kill bunches a year, but I don't really worry too much about how they feel before I kill them.

Sorry, don't mean to be mean. It just is what it is.

 

[mountainlover]

Thank you. I do see your point. I think it is fine to kill it as I don't want it spreading diseases where my children play, or living in my attic, or killing my chickens. But I would have a problem with leaving it to suffer. So if it's too cold out for it to wait in the trap to the point of being inhumane then that is what would concern me I guess. But I can see how it sounds stupid for me to worry about it when it's going to die anyway. I hope you can understand what I meant.

 

[Mattemma]

I would not worry about it.You can cover the top of the cage from wind or sun if you are worried about it suffering before you humanely kill it. I get it. I would not let it go either.They are usually covered in ticks,and most are infested with roundworms.

It is not silly really.When you think about it people do get charged when they allow an animal to suffer,and yet it often is perfectly legal to kill that same animal-humanely.

Set the trap for the next one!

 

[mountainlover]

Thank you!! I intend to do just that! I don't know if this is a normal size for a raccoon but it sure is huge!

 

[Bill Matthews]

Simple solution.......You caught the coon because you threw out a handfull of marshmellows and set a trap....What was the trap set for in the first place? To catch this coon or some other animal?...After you kill this coon are you still going to set more traps?...Very little of this makes any sense to me.Sorry.....Turn the thing loose and learn from the experience...Really doubt that anyone will get sick from any worms or disease this big guy has..If he is a problem get rid of him, but if he was an accidental catch, do the right thing and release him...Put on heavy clothes and gloves..Get a thick quilt or heavy canvas..Get people to help you..Cover the door or entrance to the trap...Open it and let him go...

 

[mountainlover]

My father is on his way to shoot him, which is the right thing IMO. The raccoon carries diseases, damages property and kills chickens. My babies play in the dirt he runs around in. I set the trap to catch raccoon and I did. I just didn't expect the weather to drop 60 degrees overnight, which it did.

 

[Hollow Point]

In my opnion you need to kill it asap. I'm sure that animal didn't sleep covered in snow in the wild. It's a lot more humane to kill it now with a bullet than to let it stay unprotected in the snow in -7 degree weather. Sure, it's covered with fur, but if you go outside in insulated coveralls and not move around you stand the chance of freezing to. Either way you go, it's your choice, I'm just giving you my advise. I have no problem killing any animal, livestock or wildlife, never have. I just don't knowingly allow an animal to suffer. I sure wouldn't turn it loose cause it will come back and take out your chickens.

Edited: Glad your fathers on the way to take care of it. Where there is one there is usually more. May need to reset the trap once it warms up.