This white faced sucka has munched his last turkey egg at my house

[chickened]

I have never relocated a possum before but I did relocate his brain .

**edited for language. Please do not bypass the censors**

 

[clintwilson59]

 

[Philidelphia Eagles]

Quote:
Amen!

 

[GallusGal]

Nice of you to simply relocate him rather than kill him.

As long as it was several miles away, he shouldn't return; they don't travel as much nor maintain nearly as large territorial ranges as more agile predators. New ones may fill the niche, sure, but that would happen regardless of if you shot or moved the animal. We trapped and moved three this year ourselves - not a problem for our chickens, but for our poor tenant. They were living under his trailer and making a terrible racket.

 

[chickened]

Relocating animals is how we ended up with invasive species, not that I care that much about the IS subject just bringing out the fact.
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[GarlicEater]

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[GallusGal]

Relocating animals is how we ended up with invasive species, not that I care that much about the IS subject just bringing out the fact.

Relocating a NATIVE animal with a massive US range 15 miles is not going to result in an invasive species.

And you're quite incorrect about invasive species being the result of relocation, at least certainly not in the context of this post. If you read the natural history of the most common invasive species in the US - and I suggest it, it's interesting stuff; Tinkering with Eden and Out of Eden are both great reads - many were incidental, such as the introduction of mosquitos to Hawaii or the introduction of old world rats and mice to the US. Others were the result of poor containment and accidental release, like nutria and the feral cat/hogs. Many others were deliberate and for human use, such as the introduction of pheasants for hunting or a laundry list of fish species for fishing/consumption. Heck, the European Starling population in the US was started by a tiny flock deliberately released by a man who wanted a species from Shakespeare's plays in the US!

Now, I suppose if the OP had driven the opossum to say... North Dakota to relocate it, you'd be correct that it could result in an invasive species. But moving a pest a few miles away from your yard rather than killing it is not going to do such a thing. If anything, you could better argue that relocations upset the (very) local ecosystem by forcing the 250 acre (roughly) range that a male opossum inhabits by forcing it to accomodate one more small omnivore, or that on the off chance that the opossum is badly diseased that it could spread something to other local opossums - but these things happen naturally due to emigration/immigration so I don't particularly see them to be as big of a deal as they are oft made out to be. You could also argue that it is illegal in some states to relocate wildlife depending on the species - but then again, it's illegal in some states to shoot wildlife off season or without a license unless they are actively harassing and killing livestock, and I see plenty of posts on here where folks shoot x given predator if they so much as see it.

Everyone has different opinions on how to deal with problem wildlife in their coop. I just wanted the OP to know that not everyone felt her decision was was foolish and that she should have shot it.​

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
Relocating a NATIVE animal with a massive US range 15 miles is not going to result in an invasive species.

And you're quite incorrect about invasive species being the result of relocation, at least certainly not in the context of this post. If you read the natural history of the most common invasive species in the US - and I suggest it, it's interesting stuff; Tinkering with Eden and Out of Eden are both great reads - many were incidental, such as the introduction of mosquitos to Hawaii or the introduction of old world rats and mice to the US. Others were the result of poor containment and accidental release, like nutria and the feral cat/hogs. Many others were deliberate and for human use, such as the introduction of pheasants for hunting or a laundry list of fish species for fishing/consumption. Heck, the European Starling population in the US was started by a tiny flock deliberately released by a man who wanted a species from Shakespeare's plays in the US!

Now, I suppose if the OP had driven the opossum to say... North Dakota to relocate it, you'd be correct that it could result in an invasive species. But moving a pest a few miles away from your yard rather than killing it is not going to do such a thing. If anything, you could better argue that relocations upset the (very) local ecosystem by forcing the 250 acre (roughly) range that a male opossum inhabits by forcing it to accomodate one more small omnivore, or that on the off chance that the opossum is badly diseased that it could spread something to other local opossums - but these things happen naturally due to emigration/immigration so I don't particularly see them to be as big of a deal as they are oft made out to be. You could also argue that it is illegal in some states to relocate wildlife depending on the species - but then again, it's illegal in some states to shoot wildlife off season or without a license unless they are actively harassing and killing livestock, and I see plenty of posts on here where folks shoot x given predator if they so much as see it.

Everyone has different opinions on how to deal with problem wildlife in their coop. I just wanted the OP to know that not everyone felt her decision was was foolish and that she should have shot it.

The best part about this way is you get to push YOUR problem off on some one else yea this is a really good way to solve a problem

not!!! after I get done trapping and dispatching I do not have ANY predator problems 4-6 months later they slowly start to kina filter back in funny thing about this the folks around me do not have any problems either , much more of solution then just wasting gasoline LOL

 

[chickened]

I think you are forgetting that invasive species are also plants. Tree farms that I work on spend a lot of money on noxious weed eradication. Horses and any other animal that eats seeds or carry them externally (sheep) and does not digest them thoroughly will spread noxious weeds site to site. We have weed free hay quarantines in Oregon for that very reason. The other factor too consider is the problem animal is now someone else's problem and maybe they take it another 50 miles say to a site where they are trying to repopulate a threatened bird species like in a wildlife refuge (has happened with feral cats) then what? Scotch broom was supposedly spread across the U.S. by sheep farmers in the wool.
Quote:
Relocating a NATIVE animal with a massive US range 15 miles is not going to result in an invasive species.

And you're quite incorrect about invasive species being the result of relocation, at least certainly not in the context of this post. If you read the natural history of the most common invasive species in the US - and I suggest it, it's interesting stuff; Tinkering with Eden and Out of Eden are both great reads - many were incidental, such as the introduction of mosquitos to Hawaii or the introduction of old world rats and mice to the US. Others were the result of poor containment and accidental release, like nutria and the feral cat/hogs. Many others were deliberate and for human use, such as the introduction of pheasants for hunting or a laundry list of fish species for fishing/consumption. Heck, the European Starling population in the US was started by a tiny flock deliberately released by a man who wanted a species from Shakespeare's plays in the US!

Now, I suppose if the OP had driven the opossum to say... North Dakota to relocate it, you'd be correct that it could result in an invasive species. But moving a pest a few miles away from your yard rather than killing it is not going to do such a thing. If anything, you could better argue that relocations upset the (very) local ecosystem by forcing the 250 acre (roughly) range that a male opossum inhabits by forcing it to accomodate one more small omnivore, or that on the off chance that the opossum is badly diseased that it could spread something to other local opossums - but these things happen naturally due to emigration/immigration so I don't particularly see them to be as big of a deal as they are oft made out to be. You could also argue that it is illegal in some states to relocate wildlife depending on the species - but then again, it's illegal in some states to shoot wildlife off season or without a license unless they are actively harassing and killing livestock, and I see plenty of posts on here where folks shoot x given predator if they so much as see it.

Everyone has different opinions on how to deal with problem wildlife in their coop. I just wanted the OP to know that not everyone felt her decision was was foolish and that she should have shot it.

 

[MOChickenz]

Quote:
Don't bring him over here! I have enough problems!