Relocating raccoons- questions

[Crunchie]

Quote:
I agree. Educating is not bashing. I was referring more to the tone of some of the posts...that could be taken as saying you are some sort of horrible person if you'd rather dump the pests. I just felt that, in this case (the OP is a teenager who probably doesn't get as much say in the situation as someone else might), it's not necessarily fair to be too harsh.

I agree with you and I'm biased about dumping them, too (having lost several valuable birds to a family of coons recently). It's just not the best solution to the problem, and I don't think it's humane, either.

 

[jhm47]

Okay, I'm one of the horrible people who "bashed" the OP. Actually didn't mean to bash anyone personally, but I do get awful tired of people who relocate (dump their problem animals) off on our property. We have a terrible problem with many large dogs which magically seem to appear. They are invariably hungry, untrained, and obviously have been neglected. We also get a lot of cats that are in the same condition. We have no way to know if the other species that appear are dumped, or just happen to wander in, however, we have lost many of our peachicks and other poultry to predation.

Since we live about 80 miles from the nearest animal shelter, and these dogs/cats are nearly impossible to catch, we must deal with these problems ourselves. It's never a pleasant chore, but when dogs are chasing and injuring our cattle, we must take action. Losing a cow or calf costs up to $1500.00, and with the slim profits in ranching these days, we cannot afford to subsidize someone else's relocation efforts.

So---I get really defensive about anyone posting about "relocating" problem animals. If you had lost the amount of valuable livestock that I have, you'd be pretty defensive too.

If I have offended the OP, you have my apology. I didn't mean to insult or bash you.

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
Funny how those who exterminated predators complain when people against it post in their threads- saying its bashing. Moderation even steps in and says dont post unless you are helping the OP in those threads.

SOOOO....this OP asked specifically about relocating and gets bashed by some and urged to kill. When I go into killing post and urge NOT to kill I get told to step out of the thread. Hmmmm........ Some of course are offering respectful advice.

Seems like you cant win in the Predators and Pest forum.


OP, you do what you feel is right, just like these other people do what they feel is right. I prefer to predator proof my cages and coops so that I do run into these problems. We have coons, weasels, hawks and the few loses Ive had were form free ranging times. I hope you dont have to go through loosing anymore. (I know those in bear areas have more trouble and tend to use electric fences).

And to add, please do bash me for my thoughts. The OP asked a specific question to which I answered my opinion, just as you all did.

He posted a question. He was told it was illegal. That should be the end of this thread because if he continues searching for ways to do this without the proper licensing, he is breaking the law and BYC does not condone illegal acts, the promotion thereof, etc etc etc etc

Personally I wouldn't mind seeing this one get closed, but it is humorous, and I am making sure none of the pro-relocation peeps live in my area.. Because I also have problems with animals getting dumped.

 

[lildinkem]

Prolly if you do more to attend to the weaknesses in your coops and forget the relocating, your birds will stay alive. You aren't feedin the neighborhood of Coons. And you can sleep better.

 

[tiffanyh]

Exactly!

 

[deerman]

Quote:
Wrong, the longer the coons are around soon or later they will get into your birds. I have seen them get parts of birds out thru 1/2in. hardware.

Those posting the Illegal act of relocating animal. Need the facts They DONT need someone to be telling its ok to do illegal acts!!!

 

[antlers]

Quote:
Wrong, the longer the coons are around soon or later they will get into your birds. I have seen them get parts of birds out thru 1/2in. hardware.

Those posting the Illegal act of relocating animal. Need the facts They DONT need someone to be telling its ok to do illegal acts!!!

ditto

If YOU can get into it, sooner or later coons will too.

 

[Nostalchic]

I swore off looking at the Predator and Pest posts because it always upsets me. Cultures clashing, with nothing in common but chickens! Amazing from a sociological perspective. But there may be some common ground. The OP is just trying to do the right thing, to be humane, and I for one totally appreciate the fact that she considered those baby raccoons. So I wanted to support her intentions. BUT, animals that are relocated have a VERY high mortality rate (according to research cited by our humane society, as I learned as an animal foster caretaker) and that may be a slow, lonely, and miserable death (eased only by the occasional good meal on someone else's chickens.) So it probably is not the most humane, or ethical approach.
You can kill and kill, or relocate and relocate, but there are more coons out there (or foxes, or coyotes, or (thank goodness I don't have to deal with this) bears. And they will keep coming, and you can keep killing (or relocating) but they will keep finding you. Maybe someday they will all be dead, but do we really want that? The really excellent thing about coons and to some degree coyotes and foxes is that they come at night, or early am, or dusk. So save yourself a lot of grief and frustration and heartbreak, and build a pest proof coop and at least a small pest proof run for times that you can't be vigilant. You're a human! You're an evolved expert at problem solving, and have all these other evolved human folks to help you figure out how to do it. You might need to spend some bucks - but what's your mental health worth to you? I'm done.

 

[CarriBrown]

Really, guys?

OP, I hope you received your answer. If not, call your county to see what they recommend. I think we've all had a chance to say what we want to say.