Relocate or Retaliate?

[Sylvie]

We have a growing raccoon rabies problem in my small rural town. They are showing up positive every 1/4 mile and that's a crisis here. I am going to make it as impossible as I can to deny them a chicken and hope for the best. I don't want to touch a trap with one in it, that's for certain.

 

[midget_farms]

DACJOHNS said:

The number of illegal solutions to problems that are proposed in this type of thread always amazes me. I don't know if it is because of ignorance of the local and federal laws or if it is because people don't care to obey the laws unless it benefits them.

I have to agree that there is a lot of ignorance out there, but you also have to keep in mind that as least in Illinois both relocating or killing are illegal. You can't do anything to protect yourself or your livestock. The only option is to pay a licensed pest remover. I called & he wanted $150 to set the trap. Plus addl. to remove the animal.

$150!!!

How many licenses could I pay for with that? If the state would let me buy varmint tags like I can buy archery deer tags (2 for $25 over the counter at walmart) I guarantee you would see more legal discussion. The state makes it too hard to protect our investment legally.

Don't get me wrong. I am an easy going live and let live kind of guy. I never wanted to feed raccoons, but I didn't care if they hung around either. They are just another cool part of where I live. I draw the line though when they become aggressive and destroy my investment. I've tried everything else.

I want to do the right thing. It shouldn't be so hard.​

 

[ninjapoodles]

midget: Have you checked with your state's version of Game & Fish Commission (or whoever oversees hunting)?

It's illegal for us to kill or relocate, too. BUT, when we contacted the G&F, they took our info, then assigned a individual caseworker (for lack of a better term) to us. That person, who was local to us, conducted an interview, looked at our evidence of predation, took all that into consideration and issued us a permit so that we can now LEGALLY deal with any predator problems. What we wound up with is called a "depredation permit," and it's basically a special out-of-season hunting license that is valid on our property.

Don't give up until you check with your state's hunting body.

 

[Dar]

Quote:
I live right on a conservation area and we are not allowed to disturb the "natural" cycles here...(I rent my house)

my birds free range during the day and at night my girls are secure in thier coop and all the doors are closed...

BUT i dont leave my garbage out I have my pails in the oil room (like a cellar) I take it to the dump every other day so no smell

I dont leave my extra chicken food in the coop i leave enough in there for a small bite in the morning before i get up and then I do my normal feed and remove the excess at night..

so I dont know if because i am taking wayyy extra precautions that knock on wood I dont have a raccoon issue

 

[Beekissed]

I am a law abiding citizen as well, but some laws are made to be broken. It sounds as if Illinois has a few on the books. WV hasn't gotten that radical yet, but if they did, folks would break that law. Intentionally hunting down animals with the intent to annihilate the species is a far cry from keeping them from destroying your property or livestock.

There are clearly marked speed limits in every state, but I'm willing to bet we have all broken those laws a time or two. Some by accident, some by intent.

When the laws are unreasonable enough to hinder your ability to raise your own food, a person has to decide what is morally acceptable to themselves. I bet all the people on here who are raising chickens in a town that doesn't allow them( BY LAW) wouldn't consider themselves ignorant of the law or even flagrant criminals. They are just trying to keep a way of life that should never have been denied in the first place. Regulated (in a town) maybe, but denied, no!

As long as man is cohabitating with the animal world there is going to be this ongoing conflict. Where man encroaches on the animal's territory(and vise versa), even more conflict. Its the world in which we live and I don't think eradicating a few raccoons is going to cause an ecological upset anytime soon.

 

[ninjapoodles]

Quote:

And hey, if anyone lives in an area with a raccoon shortage? Just gimme a call. You can have ALL of mine.

 

[panner123]

I hear some say "build of predator proof coop". I don't think anyone has
any idea what the cost of tha would be. I do for I looked into it, for me to build a predator proof coop would coast a little over $35000. (Heck I bought this property and built the house for less than that.) Now I have
38 coops, it would cost me about $1,300,000 just for coops. Then to predator proof the 15 acres, I hate to even think of that. So, the few thousand I have invested in electric fence, motion detectors, lights, radios
and my two friends, (Smith & Wesson), are all I will spend. As for putting locks on the coops, that wouldn't keep any good predator out.
Even my electric fence didn't keep a two legged predator out. All my chickens free range all day and if they want to take a walk in the middle of the night they can in the summer, for the doors are not closed.
Once it gets cold I close all the doors at night and heat the coops when it gets below 50 degrees. I lose some to predators, but not as many as before. Mainly because I take the trash off the property daily, keep my bar-b-que clean and the feed outside
my bedroom window. Still I complain about it and know it is my fault. If a predator comes on the property at night my dogs alert me as does the many alarms I have. It is at that time I put some meat in the freezer. The only critters I don't eat are the mountion lions, fox and shunks, they go to some friend that do and they use the pelts also. If I could remove most of the retirees from this area, I would not have near the problem I do now. They are from the city and don't have a clue as to the danger they cause. They want to feed all the animls that they see. Little do they know, so day that bear, mountian lion will hurt or kill them. Even a coon or squirrel can give them a nasty bite. The birds and deer eat thier share of feed, I even hand feed a couple of deer. I am on my deck and they can't get to me with thier hoves. As for relocating an animal, NO WAY. All that does is cause someone else a problem or starve the animal. Any person I catch relocating a predator near my property will pay the price. They would rather face the wraft of God than me at that time.

 

[Zookeeper9000]

Hey Panner mountain lion is great eating, I only know because my 7 brothers hunt everything and enjoy feeding everyone before they tell us what it is.

I share your belief in relocation and elemination. Didn't I just hear of a bear attack on a lady who was walking 2 dogs. Wonder what she would say to this post. Even the black bear is getting more like grizzly now. I know because my brothers are in the woods everyday and belong to hunting orgs and they hear all this as well as experiance it.

Birds of pray and bear I leave alone, but I call someone for everything else and I am learning how to shoot this fall at the gun range when they hold classes. I will be putting that 410 new england shot gun I gave my son at his birth to use. It is 16 years old and never been fired. Well it will see it's day come this fall.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

I am a law abiding citizen as well, but some laws are made to be broken.

Of everything said here, that may very well be the single most frightening statement yet. I spend a lot of time teaching my kids that if there is a law/rule/regulation they see as unfair, work on changing it. Go through the proper channels and make it fair. Can't even begin to imagine having a "if it is a rule I see as unreasonable I can can break it" mentality.​

 

[amazondoc]

Quote:
Both coyotes and owls (especially great horned owls) are predators of raccoons.

Quote:
Of course you can. You can build a secure coop and yard. You can keep your garbage and feed locked up. You can get a LGD. You can build good fences around your property. And so on.

Many people on this forum have described many good ways for you to protect both yourself and your livestock WITHOUT either killing or relocating.

Quote:
Panner, first you complain about the cost of building Chicken Fort Knox -- then you admit that you don't even close your gates at night, much less actually try to keep your birds in a secure area. What do you EXPECT to have happen??