Possum close by

[rooster-red]

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Absolutely.
Predator proofing their housing is part of that ethical responsibility, so that you don't have to be worried about killing every predator that crosses your property.

 

[antlers]

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While I bristle at the comment, "nuf said," I agree with what you are saying. Possum, having a downright primeval mental capacity, are not in on the 'feel good' thing.

The "lets all get along together" mentality rarely extends to the predator world.

Agreed. Life for any animal is not a romp in a flower covered medow all the time. Survival of the fittest demands it.

 

[amazondoc]

Something to remember, for y'all of the "shoot it now" clan --

Killing these animals can actually INCREASE disease transmission, because it increases animal migration. When you remove one animal from a wild population, another animal tends to move in to fill the empty space. And the animal that moves in may bring a disease with it. Repeat again and again, and you increase the chances of diseases moving in every time you kill another animal.

It has been shown many times over that stability in wild animal populations helps to decrease the spread of disease in those populations. Therefore, in terms of disease spread, it is probably best to deter the predator *without* killing it. Either that, or kill the predator and then set up a really really big perimeter fence so that new ones can't move in.

 

[Davaroo]

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Im with you doc. You got it right. But, tell me again why I care if the coyotes around here get the 'coyote crud' and start to die off?
It's too much thinking there, old gal pal, all that. It makes my primeval head hurt.
If you're a predator, well, you can't help that. I sympathise. You have your role, I have mine... and you may not last to fulfill yours, if I can help it. I'll shift the balance to my side of the scale, if at all possible.

I accept that it is a never ending battle - all of life is.

 

[rooster-red]

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What if the coyote crud is passed to dogs?

just a thought... although I did bag 3 coyotes trying to tear their way into my run last year.
Im with you doc. You got it right. But, tell me again why I care if the coyotes around here get the 'coyote crud' and start to die off?
It's too much thinking there, old gal pal, all that. It makes my primeval head hurt.
If you're a predator, well, you can't help that. I sympathise. You have your role, I have mine... and you may not last to fulfill yours, if I can help it. I'll shift the balance to my side of the scale, if at all possible.

I accept that it is a never ending battle - all of life is.

 

[amazondoc]

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You should care, for a coupla reasons. Most especially, it's not just "the coyote crud" that's getting spread around. It's things like rabies, and canine distemper, and brucellosis, etc., and so on. Things that we really don't want to spread around, for our own sake and the sake of our own animals.

A stable population is a healthier population. And that's healthy for us as well as for them!

 

[Titaniumcranium]

Sorry to disagree, but anything tryin to eat my chickens is gonna get stuck chewin on a lead pill.

 

[amazondoc]

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You can "disagree" with facts all you want -- but that doesn't make them any less factual.

 

[Titaniumcranium]

What facts are you refering to?

 

[amazondoc]

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Oh, sorry. The fact that removing animals from a wild population, therefore increasing migration of other animals to fill the empty spaces, tends to increase the spread of diseases within that population. That's a fact.

You said you disagreed. I suspect what you may really have meant was that you think other concerns are more important than disease transmission. But I'm sure you can clarify your position much better than I can.