Kill a racoon? go to jail

[Dayrel]

In that case, your dad shoulders the responsibility for that, and lack there must be a lack of concern for the animals that he is slaughtering if he KNOWS he doesn't get a clean kill. That's aweful if he knew this and did it anyway. That's on your dad 100%

It was a different time and it is doubtful you would have complained back then. Give Birdinhand full credit for learning from it and moving on to more humane practices.

 

[Bunnylady]

I didn't see anything in the article that said the guy went to jail, just that he was arrested. A ride down to the station, where you get fingerprinted, photographed, and the paperwork written up doesn't necessarily mean you ever see the inside of a jail cell. I'm sure the whole process is pretty high on the humiliation scale, though.

The legal system is a bit more complicated than a lot of law-abiding folks realize. It's quite possible that a judge may give the guy a lecture and dismiss the charges, or the thing never even gets to court at all.

I don't know how the law is written in Florida, but in NC, I'd be totally within my rights to kill a nuisance predator like a raccoon, whether or not I caught it actually killing chickens. Animal Control would tell me, with increasing irritability, that they don't deal with wild animals. If I had a raccoon in a trap, I would either have to kill it myself or call a wildlife removal service (who would also have to kill it, since it is illegal to relocate raccoons). I don't know what method they would use, but to the raccoon, the only real difference would be the length of time it spent in the trap (and having seen a couple of them bloody to the shoulders from trying to get out, I think I can safely say being in the trap is highly stressful for them).

 

[Sublight]

It was a different time and it is doubtful you would have complained back then. Give Birdinhand full credit for learning from it and moving on to more humane practices.

I give credit for moving on to more humane practices.

Just stating a fact, that if you see your method isn't working, and the animals are suffering then you should do something different. Assuming there were no other firearms options back then... then there are now.
Im sure we would have to go back a LONG time to find when there was no access to larger caliber firearms.

If it was a different time, then her argument doesn't really fit for this discussion because there are much better round for 60 lbs animals if a .22 isn't working.

 

[Dayrel]

If it was a different time, then her argument doesn't really fit for this discussion because there are much better round for 60 lbs animals if a .22 isn't working.

You missed the point entirely. "Different time" in this and many other contexts has nothing has nothing to do with technology and everything to do with culture. If you are raised in a culture that strictly considers animals as a resource and isn't as concerned about their welfare, then you aren't as empathetic to their suffering.

In 2017, there are still African and Muslim cultural practices that involve slitting the throats of goats and cows and letting them struggle and bleed out. The difference is culture, not technology. If you grew up in either if those cultures, it is doubtful you would object and then it would be 100% on you.

 

[lazy gardener]

NO matter the caliber, a shot can be misplaced. And a lot of movement after the shot, or even decapitation is simply neurons firing, even when the animal is technically dead. Chicken running around with her head cut off? They can cover a lot of distance. And when processing birds, the processor tries to limit such occurrences from happening. But... sometimes stuff happens.

 

[Chickassan]

This right here is why i chose the shotgun, at close range i basically couldn't miss or draw out an already unpleasant experience. I did however blow any chances for animal control testing the raccoon.

NO matter the caliber, a shot can be misplaced. And a lot of movement after the shot, or even decapitation is simply neurons firing, even when the animal is technically dead. Chicken running around with her head cut off? They can cover a lot of distance. And when processing birds, the processor tries to limit such occurrences from happening. But... sometimes stuff happens.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Drowning is Old School Farmer and obnoxious.

As for jail, I consider drowning animal cruelty, so there you go. In California animal cruelty is a felony.

 

[Sublight]

You missed the point entirely. "Different time" in this and many other contexts has nothing has nothing to do with technology and everything to do with culture. If you are raised in a culture that strictly considers animals as a resource and isn't as concerned about their welfare, then you aren't as empathetic to their suffering.

In 2017, there are still African and Muslim cultural practices that involve slitting the throats of goats and cows and letting them struggle and bleed out. The difference is culture, not technology. If you grew up in either if those cultures, it is doubtful you would object and then it would be 100% on you.

To be honest, I think you missed the point entirely. You think im ranting over a inhumane kill. I don't like the idea of a inhumane kill, but that's not what this is about.
My point to her is the reason they didn't get quick kills, is because her father chose to use a undersized bullet on a large animal. If he had stepped up to something that was up to the task, then they would have dropped where they stood.

So yes, that was 100% on him. Because im sure he knew he had other options. But similar to what you said in your post. He probably just didn't care. That doesn't mean that using a firearm to dispatch critters is unreliable. It means you need to match the bullet to the prey. If you don't do that, then its by choice.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

Drowning is Old School Farmer and obnoxious.

As for jail, I consider drowning animal cruelty, so there you go. In California animal cruelty is a felony.

but he is in Florida different laws. where i live my government would most likely care less if you drown a coon (not humane in my opinion but each there own) as they recommend drowning sets on aquatic fur bearing animals. he should of just shot it.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

Personally, I don't think this was an appropriate way of handling the situation. He should have been more prepared as a chicken owner to deter predators and there are plenty of options. My preference/suggestion to prevent further incidents like this is to buy an LED light that emulates predator eyes that you can attach to your chicken coop. I've also read that urine from other predators can be used to trick certain animals into thinking danger is nearby.

To be honest, any person that intentionally drowns an animal out of anger already has issues. Although, if he were to plan and take better care of his chickens properly that situation would have never happened.

for those of you who say use urine from one predator is a mistake, yes it may scare some predators but WILL attract others, (for example coyote urine will attract other coyotes same with fox and wolf) we use urine for trapping certain fur bearers.