My rules for my property: If I trap it, I kill it, unless it's someone's pet, or a cat or dog that COULD be a pet. Best choice: .22 shot at point blank range, with barrel of gun set so the bullet passes through the grid of the trap and the bullet contacts the critter at the base of the skull, passing from back of skull up towards brain.
Best to dig the burial hole before dispatching the animal.
Never leave an animal in a trap longer than necessary. Better to do a quick merciful killing than to allow a stressed animal to sit in a trap, especially if it's a hot day. As a matter of fact, If I can't be around during the day, I'll close the traps so that an animal won't get caught in the heat of the day.
Practice good coop/run security so your need to trap/kill is minimized. I use dog poop to help with that. It gets flung into the weedy growth around my property.
Skunks can actually be beneficial b/c they do a great job eating grubs. But, with a dog and chickens, I'm not keen on having them around. Since I've been doing the "dog poop fling", skunks haven't been coming around much.
Best to dig the burial hole before dispatching the animal.
Never leave an animal in a trap longer than necessary. Better to do a quick merciful killing than to allow a stressed animal to sit in a trap, especially if it's a hot day. As a matter of fact, If I can't be around during the day, I'll close the traps so that an animal won't get caught in the heat of the day.
Practice good coop/run security so your need to trap/kill is minimized. I use dog poop to help with that. It gets flung into the weedy growth around my property.
Skunks can actually be beneficial b/c they do a great job eating grubs. But, with a dog and chickens, I'm not keen on having them around. Since I've been doing the "dog poop fling", skunks haven't been coming around much.