Neighbor is BIG TIME feeding the raccoons.

[Lilki]

I agree 100%. Now we're talking infectious pathogens in waterways and there is a huge concern for local pets, right up to kids getting bit by a rabid cat instead of the coons. That's exactly how my dad lost over 50 cats last year. Had to put down every single cat on a 3 farm radius.
We sent a bunch of heads to CSU; they have a freebie necropsy program for just such scenarios. But I bet the state wildlife people will want to have them done for sure. They'll probably automatically do it since they're dying everywhere..

YES! This is why I'm so freaked out about this! Our tenant who lives behind us said she saw three of them on her porch last night, just looking at her. They weren't scared at all, even when she made a bunch of noise, so she locked herself in. I told her to call us if it happened again. Ugh.

@shortgrass do you know if rabies or distemper can transmit through water?

@Howard E yes we found the dead ones before the cat food conversation. Do you think Dept. of Fish and Game is the right agency to contact about this? I did mention the dead ones we're finding in my email to them.

 

[bobbi-j]

YES! This is why I'm so freaked out about this! Our tenant who lives behind us said she saw three of them on her porch last night, just looking at her. They weren't scared at all, even when she made a bunch of noise, so she locked herself in. I told her to call us if it happened again. Ugh.

@shortgrass do you know if rabies or distemper can transmit through water?

@Howard E yes we found the dead ones before the cat food conversation. Do you think Dept. of Fish and Game is the right agency to contact about this? I did mention the dead ones we're finding in my email to them.

That's where I'd start. I'm glad you mentioned the dead ones in your email. That's vital information and might get them interested in moving faster on it.

 

[shortgrass]

YES!  This is why I'm so freaked out about this!  Our tenant who lives behind us said she saw three of them on her porch last night, just looking at her.  They weren't scared at all, even when she made a bunch of noise, so she locked herself in. I told her to call us if it happened again.  Ugh.

@shortgrass
 do you know if rabies or distemper can transmit through water?

@Howard E
 yes we found the dead ones before the cat food conversation.  Do you think Dept. of Fish and Game is the right agency to contact about this?  I did mention the dead ones we're finding in my email to them.

YES. Both of them can be transmitted through a water dish, so I assume it can be in the water if they're laying in it dead.

Rabies can also be contracted by infected brain matter in mucous membranes, so take caution if you do happen to shoot one in the head or something like that. That's why they'll want heads for necropsy; rabies will be in the brain matter.

 

[Howard E]

The State of Wisconsin currently has a ban in place prohibiting the feeding of deer. They are fighting chronic wasting disease, and it is passed by saliva, so by feeding the deer, you concentrate them in one area, creating an opportunity for the disease to spread. So the issue is real.

If someone in the area is feeding raccoons, a neighbor finding 3 on the front porch is no surprise. They have been trained to come to homes for a handout. They say "fed bears are dead bears" as once they learn where to get an easy meal, they seek them out, causing trouble for not only the original person, but others like them in the area. Life in the wild can be tough.....so they will seek out easy meals. Raccoons are mini bears, so the same principle applies.

Having said that, I doubt there is a disease problem killing all these coons. I suspect someone is poisoning them. That many don't die that fast in one concentrated area. That would be indicative of an epidemic and that would be in the news all over if it were the case. If you don't think people are capable of poisoning those coons think again. I got a first hand account of it not long ago from the person doing it. I was shocked.

Frankly, I now think the place to call is your local law enforcement. Let them know about the lady feeding the coons and all the rest about the dead coons all over the place. I think she is concentrating them and someone else is killing them. On the other hand, if it really is a disease outbreak, leave it to law enforcement to coordinate with health dept and/or fish and game to work out a solution. I'm curious to see where this goes.

 

[shortgrass]

The State of Wisconsin currently has a ban in place prohibiting the feeding of deer. They are fighting chronic wasting disease, and it is passed by saliva, so by feeding the deer, you concentrate them in one area, creating an opportunity for the disease to spread. So the issue is real.

If someone in the area is feeding raccoons, a neighbor finding 3 on the front porch is no surprise. They have been trained to come to homes for a handout. They say "fed bears are dead bears" as once they learn where to get an easy meal, they seek them out, causing trouble for not only the original person, but others like them in the area. Life in the wild can be tough.....so they will seek out easy meals. Raccoons are mini bears, so the same principle applies.

Having said that, I doubt there is a disease problem killing all these coons. I suspect someone is poisoning them. That many don't die that fast in one concentrated area. That would be indicative of an epidemic and that would be in the news all over if it were the case. If you don't think people are capable of poisoning those coons think again. I got a first hand account of it not long ago from the person doing it. I was shocked.

Frankly, I now think the place to call is your local law enforcement. Let them know about the lady feeding the coons and all the rest about the dead coons all over the place. I think she is concentrating them and someone else is killing them. On the other hand, if it really is a disease outbreak, leave it to law enforcement to coordinate with health dept and/or fish and game to work out a solution. I'm curious to see where this goes.

Well said. I agree that it sounds more like poison. At least, I kinda hope so, in a weird way. Maybe your neighbor on the OTHER side decided to take matters into their own hands. It would take an epidemic off the table if that's the case. IMO, it might be best to err on the side of caution and let the authorities take over. Now it's almost like criminal activity, over raccoons

 

[aart]

Fascinating thread...lots of good(and bad) discussion.

OP brought to mind a scene I witnessed at a campground in Fla years ago.
There was a guy with an RV a couple spots away that fed coons every evening.
He would sit in a lawn chair doling out 'treats' and was surrounded by ~20 coons.
Some of them were huge!!
It was creepyscary.

@Lilki any word from the authorities you contacted?

 

[azygous]

I haven't read every single page of this thread so don't know if the issue of raccoons being a physical threat to people has been addressed. It goes to show how most people view a cuddly-appearing fur clad creature like a Disney cartoon when the animal in real life can inflict great bodily harm. There exist well known documentation of pet raccoons turning on their owners and mauling them so badly, weeks or months of reconstructive surgery was required.

Another park story:

In my desert park beside the Colorado River, people were feeding raccoons in the campground. It had gotten to the tipping point where entire families of coons were marauding through the campground, slashing their way through tents and trailer window screens to raid the dwellings for food they felt entitled to.

The report that got my rear in gear was hearing from a picnicker that a raccoon had climbed up his back while he was sitting at a picnic table eating and snatched the sandwich out of his hand. I extrapolated that the next victim could be a small child and injuries could be substantial, and I presented the argument to the district office recommending a trap and exterminate program. The okay was given and I proceeded with the grizzly project.

I chose KFC fried chicken as bait and rigged the traps in campsites, right under picnic tables. The haul was both impressive and heart breaking. Adults and babies were found in the traps over the following week. I executed the animals and hauled their carcasses a couple miles away out in open desert for the coyotes to clean up.

After a week of this, and another week of finding only empty traps, I concluded all the "bad actors" had been caught. The interesting thing was that campers were still reporting seeing raccoons around the edges of the campground, but none of these animals were coming in close demanding handouts. So I was pretty confident that only the corrupted coons had been exterminated. As long as I was the ranger in that park, people got stern warnings about feeding the wildlife, so in the intervening years up to my retirement, there were no more raccoon problems.

It was one of the most emotionally heart wrenching tasks I had to perform as a park ranger. At one point I blurted out in front of a group of park visitors, "This park doesn't have a raccoon problem, it has a people problem!" I don't know if it's a result of a long intervening period of relative safety in our human evolution or our exposure to TV and movies that are responsible for our disconnect from the true nature of wildlife, or perhaps both. But it's a big problem.

 

[centrarchid]

Fascinating thread...lots of good(and bad) discussion.

OP brought to mind a scene I witnessed at a campground in Fla years ago.
There was a guy with an RV a couple spots away that fed coons every evening.
He would sit in a lawn chair doling out 'treats' and was surrounded by ~20 coons.
Some of them were huge!!
It was creepyscary.

@Lilki
 any word from the authorities you contacted?

I have pictures like that of chickens, cattle, hogs, horses and puppies. Man that was scary.

 

[aart]

Quote: Apples and oranges....raccoons are not domesticated animals.

 

[centrarchid]

No, but the issue getting out of hand when it comes to one person being targeted for feeding wildlife. The wildlife such as raccoons and other critters are more abundant in urban / suburban settings regardless of what one person does. This thread is treating the problem as if it were a "point source" when in reality it is "non-point". The raccoons must have resources other than simply the feed being put out. What is likely being done is one person is putting out a resource that brings in wildlife into a situation where they do concentrate, but also become more visible. To really treat problem, other resources in the area need to be limited. Culling the animals is not what that means. If were the local wildlife manager, then I would be looking to get a better handle on what all the factors are promoting such abundance and tackle it that way. Stopping that feeding station would be high on the list but it must be done by legal methods. You cannot just say "hay old lady, stop feeding the critters or be penalized". Time to make it a legal issue where that can be done and do a better job if educating the public.


This conversation is also skewed because most of us are poultry keepers so a grain of salt taken on that part.


The level of danger posed by the raccoons is exaggerated a bit. I have a fair amount of experience with live raccoons so feel comfortable make that assessment.