Florida Wildlife Management
David-
I'm not sure how much insight I can provide into your endeavors as I am not
an expert in mammalian rehab. I specialize in reptile and amphibian rehab. I
would be happy to offer a few of my personal opinions for whatever they are
worth to you.
It seems to me the problem is not the proper removal of wildlife in the
attic, but proper prevention to keep them getting in there in the first
place. If people would simply take the time to check for points of entry
and keep them sealed off, no problem to begin with. Perhaps a campaign
aimed at educating people about how to keep wildlife out of their attic in
the first place would be more appropriate and yield greater results towards
your goal of not having as many displaced orphans.
Next, we have to put the situation in proper perspective and context. The
majority of people view a raccoon in their attic as a pest, an infestation,
and a nuisance to be dealt with in the most effective, expedient, and
economical avenue possible. Most people don't care about harming or killing
the raccoon in the attic, or their offspring. I know this sounds heartless,
but it is a fact of life. I deal with it all the time. I love reptiles and
enjoy helping them, but I often get calls from people looking for quick
pest-disposal and just want to be rid of the disgusting and scary snake in
their basement. I don't feel this way, but they do. The sooner we realize
and accept that the better we are to keep our emotions under control and in
check and can focus on helping the animals that really need us.
As for pest removal, they are a necessary evil. We don't have to like what
they do, but we do have to acknowledge that they provide a needed service.
I don't think anyone would agree that we should let the roaches run wild and
that pest removal companies should leave all pests alone. The problem is
how we handle those pests, and how we define what a pest is, and everyone's
idea is different. I don't like the fact that most pest removal companies
use glue strips to catch and kill snakes. I do like it when they put down
bait and poison to kill cockroaches and rats, though. Unfortunately pest
and wildlife removal people are not in the business to help wildlife, nor
are they trained to do so. But we still need their valuable services even
if we don't like it.
Now here's a tidbit that I know is really going to burst your bubble and
make you hate me. It is an overabundance of humans and wildlife in close
proximity that spawns these problems. By unknowingly providing homes in
attics, barns, and garages, and by providing gourmet meals in our garbage
cans, we are promoting the rapid unnatural spread of many of these wild
animals. The last thing we need is more of them living in the same
residential areas. Raccoons and squirrels are not endangered, not
threatened, and their populations are booming to the point that interactions
between them and humans are rampant and continuous. Raccoons are carriers
of not only human zoonotic pathogens such as rabies and typhus, but also
canine and feline distemper, parvovirus, coronavirus, and a number of other
really nasty diseases that can affect us and our pets. Does that mean I
don't think we need raccoons? Of course not. But I don't think we should
worry about protecting raccoons that are living uncomfortably close to
humans. By doing so we are encouraging more generations of raccoons to live
amongst us. Protect the raccoons in their natural environment, not in our
environment. (yes, I know it was their home first, but that's another
argument that we can't win)
The Florida Division of Wildlife actually prohibits the rehabilitation and
release of raccoons in Florida. Even wildlife rehabbers are not allowed to
relocate and release them. They must be euthanized by state law. This is
because there is such a high risk of disease transmission to humans and
pets, they are extremely plentiful and in abundant numbers, and once they
have become accustomed to living amongst humans they will continue to return
there for easy food and shelter. Once a problem coon, always a problem
coon. Florida treats alligators the same way... gators in the wild get help
and attention, but one interaction with humans and FL fish and game puts
them down. It's because they know once the gator sees humans (or our pets)
as a food source they are going to keep coming back. This is bad.
I understand you don't want to see any orphan animal suffer and die, but if
those babies in the attic live they are just going to get killed in someone
else's attic or shed, if they don't bite a child or someone's dog or have
more babies first. I feel that the one's unfortunate enough to have
selected a human residence to settle down in made a poor choice, and I don't
think we should go out of our way to save those "domesticated" wild animals
that will continue to cause problems and situations like the very ones we
are discussing now. We should be focusing our efforts on injured and
orphaned wild animals that came out of their own native habitat, not try to
save the trouble makers and continue to promote these animals living among
us by saving and releasing them back into the suburbs.
I applaud your efforts and desire to help orphaned animals in need, I just
feel your passions and efforts are somewhat misplaced. The baby raccoons in
an attic are not a good thing. We should not promote catch and release
these animals. They will continue to cause the same problems and then you
will have ten more litters of raccoons to remove from attics.
Hope this helps shed a new perspective and a different light on the subject
for you.
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