Shaken from "dispatching"

[mydadsjoy]

We have been having raccoon "visitors" for some time. Last month we were able to capture one in a live trap. Hubby dispatched - buried. Done. But - another, older, smarter raccoon escaped another (weaker) trap and refused to be caught thereafter.

This animal (and the one caught and killed) had figured out how to get through our expensive microchip-reading cat door. Those fingers!!! Nightly it has been coming inside the porch, terrorizing the cats, tearing things up, getting into cat food. Yes I had tried just not feeding the cats at night - but - the nearby chicken coop started to show signs of tampering when the &*^%! raccoon couldn't get to it's nightly cat food.

We had put the traps away for a couple of weeks - to allow it some time to forget... then tried again - with a stronger, newer trap. Yes, inside the cat porch - last time we put the trap outside we caught a small dog, opossums - who, I'm sure taught the raccoon what NOT to do. We finally caught him last night. I woke to find him - the trap had moved a solid 4 feet from his struggling. He had managed to get the trap over a thick electrical cord - and chewed it up - without harming himself in the process! Feces all over the floor - blood from it's trying to escape.

Thankfully the room is hoseable.

I called a friend (hubby was at work) to help me dispatch. I won't go thru the entire story, but it was not an easy process and has left me shaken - to say the least. Shooting an animal still inside a trap is tricky business for amateurs. I'm not sure that drowning wouldn't be more humane.

I know this is long - but a warning to those who are doing this for the first time and are not fully firearm savvy. It won't be easy - the county probably won't help in the least - and those @#$! creatures are TOUGH little bastards.

Oh and one more thing. Have any of you notice just how stupid chickens are?

I put this thing - in it's cage - on the ground - they all came rushing up to it. I've never seen them that curious about anything. The raccoon was reaching through the cage at them with it's bloody paws and they were just sticking their heads closer and closer. Of course I chased them away, but - REALLY? They're that stupid? Uh, yeah - they are.

Don't think your birds know what's dangerous. I just learned they really don't. DUH.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Congratulations on catching that trap-wise raccoon. Sometimes they can be really hard to catch.

I usually drown things I catch in a live trap if I don't want to release them. I don't consider that any more inhumane than any other method. I know some people are going to get all bent out of shape over that statement, but I really don't consider it all that inhumane, especially compared to many other options.

My first priority in dispatching an animal is that no human get hurt, me or anyone else. I can achieve that by using a rain barrel. I have used a large garbage can with a plastic garbage bag to hold water if the garbage can leaks.

I grew up with guns. I am comfortable that I can handle a gun. There are times that a gun is a good option. I often use a gun to dispatch an animal I want to eliminate. But if someone is not used to guns they are a horrible option, I don't care how many video games they've played or Rambo movies they've watched.

Especially if you are not used to using guns, it can be difficult to make a killing shot. Those animals are covered with fur. There is not a lot of body under there, and you need to hit a vital spot for a quick clean kill. A head shot is usually best. I don't consider a shotgun a good option for an animal in a trap. You'll destroy the trap. So achieving a humane kill with a gun can be difficult, especially if you are not familiar with doing it. Having to shoot the animal several times does not sound all that humane to me.

Bullets can ricochet. I've seen what happened to a kid's knee when he went hunting with his dad who was very familiar with guns. I respect what a gun can do.

Firing a rifle or even a pistol in an urban area is really risky. It's probably against the law to start with, but I have seen what a ricochet can do. Stray bullets are also a danger, not just a ricochet. Where I now live it is not a huge issue with people, but some of the places I have lived it would have been. Here I still have to worry about cattle and horses, but I can handle that.

Some people will recommend using a pellet gun to dispatch an animal in the trap. In many ways that is safer than a rifle, if you happen to have one, but you still have the issues of being able to get a killing shot especially if you are not familiar with the gun. Those pellets can ricochet too if you don't get a good killing shot but I would consider them safer than a rifle or even a hand gun. With a pellet gun, you are mainly putting yourself at risk from a ricochet though it may be a good idea to know where your spouse and kids are. You are a lot less likely to do serious damage with the pellets, though they can kill. After all, that's what you are using them for. To kill.

If you are truly familiar with guns and their use, you have the appropriate gun to use, and you are in an area where it is safe to use that gun, I don't oppose their use at all, even with a trapped animal. It's amateurs often using not the correct gun for the job or using them in the wrong place that I have problems with.

 

[mydadsjoy]

The friend who helped was very familiar with firearms - but had never used them in this manner. I'm not sure that my "shakiness" didn't mostly stem from my terror that something might happen to her. In short - she couldn't get a clean shot at it's head in a safe place for her. She ended up having to use multiple shots, and it still didn't die. And she STILL couldn't get "that" shot. In the end, we had to take the poor, wounded animal back to the yard and drown him. That's my reasoning for just wanting to switch to drowning from here on. It was traumatic for everyone - including the children inside the house who could hear the gunshots. Just not nice, and not something I'll soon forget.

 

[Mavrik]

Use a hammer to the head, even with the hammer head sideways for more strike area. Killing the brain first is the fastest and most human. Pretty darn safe to do.

 

[Quahog]

Use a hammer to the head, even with the hammer head sideways for more strike area. Killing the brain first is the fastest and most human. Pretty darn safe to do.

Safe?! I'd like to see you try to brain a coon with a hammer!

You'd be all sorts of torn up and the coon would waddle away unharmed afterward.

 

[Mavrik]

Your not suppose to hold the coon while you brain it.

 

[mydadsjoy]

How to brain a coon without holding it... things that make you go hmmmmmm. Well, at least some of the mental pictures have me giggling. Kinda needed that.

 

[sumi]

The friend who helped was very familiar with firearms - but had never used them in this manner. I'm not sure that my "shakiness" didn't mostly stem from my terror that something might happen to her. In short - she couldn't get a clean shot at it's head in a safe place for her. She ended up having to use multiple shots, and it still didn't die. And she STILL couldn't get "that" shot. In the end, we had to take the poor, wounded animal back to the yard and drown him. That's my reasoning for just wanting to switch to drowning from here on. It was traumatic for everyone - including the children inside the house who could hear the gunshots. Just not nice, and not something I'll soon forget.

Sorry you had such a bad experience

I also hated killing predators caught in our traps, but my DH used a big stick and a few good blows to the head finished the beasties off quickly. And our chickens go nuts if we bring the corpses anywhere near them! They know...
Hope you don't have any more coon troubles after this.

 

[Mavrik]

Have you heard of fencing or plywood or hammers have a handle? Maybe not, let me make a visual. Coon in a leg hold, only can go so far, hammer handle makes person farther away or maybe a long pipe. Or throw fencing or plywood on top of said varmint to hold it while the job is done.

 

[canesisters]

Have you heard of fencing or plywood or hammers have a handle? Maybe not, let me make a visual. Coon in a leg hold, only can go so far, hammer handle makes person farther away or maybe a long pipe. Or throw fencing or plywood on top of said varmint to hold it while the job is done.

I believe the OP was using a cage type trap, so striking the animal in any way was not an option.

Mydadsjoy - I'm so sorry you had to go through this. Unfortunately, I think that all of us will either face having to 'do in' a predator or an ill/injured chicken. Thankfully, you will have worked out the details and will be prepared then next time it happens.