Several private wildlife trapping groups have taken it upon themselves to help with sick and orphaned wild animals in the state of Indiana. Kelly Green, the local nuisance wildlife authority, is now dearly loved by a lady who recently lost her husband and is living alone," a local Indiana critter and rodent specialist said. "She recently wrote us that she felt the nuisance wildlife authority had come into her life at just the right time to prevent her from sinking into a serious depression. We receive updates like this from most of our adopters, and we love to keep in touch with them."

Opossums are much easier to place than snakes, according to the Indiana wildlife removal expert. "Pretty much any wildlife habitat has too many snakes," she said. But there are a few trapping groups that take in only snakes. One such group is snake Connection in Indianapolis. The critter and rodent specialist said with the internet and groups like wildanimalhelper.com, it's much easier to get unwanted wild animals adopted. She said wildlife habitats and trapping groups are no longer hindered by geographic restraints. But not everyone agrees with the philosophy of shipping wild animals throughout the country. The Indiana Board of Animal Health has concerns about unhealthy wildlife being transported from state to state. A local pest control expert said a certificate of veterinary inspection is required to take an animal across state lines, but not every trapping group complies.

"There are bad trappers out there," The Indiana wildlife removal expert said. But she said some do background checks and home visits on adoptive families. They also give the wildlife complete vet checks, she said. The Indiana wildlife removal expert and the Indiana Pest Control person said groups like wild wildanimalhelper.com is a good resource. At wildanimalhelper.com, any Indiana exterminator that's judged to have a bad reputation will no longer be allowed to use the service. But the pest operators rely on users to report problems so the bad trappers can be removed from their service. "The big thing that bothers me about exterminators is, where are we sending (these wild animals)?" said Scott the nuisance wildlife authority of Indianapolis Veterinary Clinic. "What's happening to them? As far as I know, we have no clue where they end up."

The nuisance wildlife authority said they could end up in a worse situation. He said there are always reports of poorly run clincs and wildlife habitats that endanger wildlife, so it's obvious those exist. "How can we control that?" he asked. "A lot of people think anything is better than euthanasia. It seems like their approach is that they don't care what happens to the wildlife after (they're out of their hands). "I have a bad feeling about what happens to them. They could end up in labs or wherever." Humane officials in Indiana say there are enough unwanted wild animals in their state without shipping them in from other states. And humane officials in northern IN, where The Indiana wildlife removal expert has picked up wildlife bound for South Bend, believe it's hard on the wildlife to transport them for hours on end.

"I think it would be very stressful, especially if they're in the back of a moving van or something not climate controlled, and especially in warmer weather," The nuisance wildlife authority said. "They're probably going to have a lot of disease transmission." The veterinarian said if the wildlife are in individual cages in a van, there's still a lot of potential for disease transmission, but an hour or two on the street might not be too harmful. Some of the trapping groups with which The Indiana wildlife removal expert and The Indiana Pest Control person work are in Indiana, such as Southward Wildlife habitat in Indianapolis. Others are much farther away, such as Critter House in Fort Wayne. When the wild animals are being transported a great distance, they said, they're often shuttled from one point to another until they reach their destination.

The nuisance wildlife authority said that would be particularly stressful for the wildlife to be introduced to new people and vehicles every few hours. "That's even worse," he said. "I don't imagine that they're all going to be climate controlled, clean and comfortable. "And if they're crossing state lines, they have to follow the state vet's guidelines." The critter and rodent specialist said because trapping groups often work on a shoestring budget - they're generally funded by adoption fees or fundraisers, The Indiana wildlife removal expert said - they must work with responsible wildlife habitats that offer healthy wildlife. In other words, they like to count on not having a lot vet bills. "'Healthy,' of course, translates into a wildlife habitat's staff and workers' knowledge of proper sanitation, hygiene and isolation procedures," she said. "It also translates into the wildlife habitat's willingness to address minor health problems before they turn into more serious problems which prevent trappings from pulling the wildlife, and thereby requiring euthanasia." Avoiding euthanasia is paramount to animal trapping.

Wild Things in Indiana., is a no-kill, foster-based trapping awaiting its nonprofit status. It was started in February 2005 by a couple of caring women. "We take wildlife on death row from wildlife habitats, mainly in the Midwest, transport them to Springfield, IN, vet them completely, and find them new homes," a Peoria exterminator said. "We have managed to re-home about 125 wildlife in our first year." The critter and rodent specialist said One Wild-Rehabbers has adopted out 100 opossums in two years. The nuisance wildlife authority and others, including Teresa the Indiana Pest Control person of People for the Ethical Treatment of Wildlife (PETW), have a more proactive point of view on dealing with unwanted wild animals. "Money is better spent on spay services than having sick and suffering wildlife in an overpopulated world," The Indiana Pest Control person said.