In Georgia, it is illegal to relocate a raccoon, because they can carry rabies. First, you have to get a Permit for Lethal Control from DNR to trap a raccoon and on that permit you have to describe how you are going to dispatch the animal. Getting the permit was very easy for me. However, the permit specified that I only had thirty days to catch the thing and had to shoot it on the property that I trapped it on or pay a WRD to dispose of it.
I've trapped and dispatched two raccoons in two days. Worse, my camera has recorded three additional raccoons on screen at one time! That means there were at least five on the property. How they were getting into the coop was a mystery. The floor, walls, roof are solid wood or glass. The door is an old house door with glass and metal. They weren't entering through the vent windows because they have hardware cloth and now wooden bars. With the help of cameras, I finally determined how they got into my chicken coop, they entered through the nesting box. That's right, they lifted the cover and went in, then reeked their havoc, and exited the same way. LOCK THOSE NESTING BOX LIDS!
When you decide to trap raccoons, use Jet Puff Marshmallows. I promise they love the things. I was worried about using cat food or something like that because I was afraid of catching a barn cat. Once you have this thing in a cage, remember these things are vicious. They growl like a dog and lash out. I hated the thought of dispatching any animal but after seeing the damage that has happened to my flock in just one week, it was not hard to squeeze that trigger.
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I've trapped and dispatched two raccoons in two days. Worse, my camera has recorded three additional raccoons on screen at one time! That means there were at least five on the property. How they were getting into the coop was a mystery. The floor, walls, roof are solid wood or glass. The door is an old house door with glass and metal. They weren't entering through the vent windows because they have hardware cloth and now wooden bars. With the help of cameras, I finally determined how they got into my chicken coop, they entered through the nesting box. That's right, they lifted the cover and went in, then reeked their havoc, and exited the same way. LOCK THOSE NESTING BOX LIDS!
When you decide to trap raccoons, use Jet Puff Marshmallows. I promise they love the things. I was worried about using cat food or something like that because I was afraid of catching a barn cat. Once you have this thing in a cage, remember these things are vicious. They growl like a dog and lash out. I hated the thought of dispatching any animal but after seeing the damage that has happened to my flock in just one week, it was not hard to squeeze that trigger.
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NESTING BOXES. Wow.... That's something I bet you're not the first one to overlook; mine are inside too, and now I'm glad they are! I'm seeing a recurring theme on the relocation of raccoon especially... Fox, raccoon, skunk, bat, opossum... Carriers of rabies. So far, NO state other than Co and CA, and a province in Canada are even ALLOWED to relocate them, and even there, its mostly within 2 miles... I see a lot of permits needed and consent and approval of authorities and owners.. A good way for wildlife officials to track vectors of possibly sick animals... @Farmer Brian , does this kind of stuff mess with the numbers that each STATE figures for hunting tags etc? Like poachers are already accounted for when tags go out each year...does relocating without wildlife officials knowing affect what estimated populations are? Or is it too small to matter?
