Nationwide Wildlife Control: 1-888-488-7720
Some wildlife, such as mud swallows, woodpeckers and bats, can be relocated without euthanization.
More and more often people contact me looking for no-kill options for wildlife and even for domestic animals that they have on their property. These animals might be bats in their garage or pigeons roosting on their office building. It is hard for people to understand why some animals are euthanized.
The good news is that some wild animals can be removed without euthanization. Examples are bats, mud swallows and woodpeckers. We vent the animals out and perform maintenance to prevent them from returning. They are free to find a new roost or colony location. We use repellents for mud swallows and woodpeckers, which, again, are free to relocate themselves.
However, the most common urban wildlife like raccoons, pigeons and feral cats, usually cannot be legally relocated. The easy answer is “that is the law” and people reply “the law is wrong” or “the law can be changed” or even “To $&%* with the law, I’m going to do the right thing, legal or not.” But, before you act remember that there are reasons why euthanization laws exist.
Urban wildlife carries more disease than their rural cousins. If we trap a city raccoon, for example, and take it out to the country it is likely to infect the rural population.
Most areas in the United States where each of these animals can live already support a near-capacity population. If you relocate an animal, it will fight established animals for territory. Someone will lose.
Urban animals often do not adapt to rural living. A fast-food raccoon does not know how to catch fish from a running stream.
Pigeons will return to their original roost from over 500 miles away, making relocation near impossible. Other animals will return from remarkable distances, far longer than you would expect.
I do not like to euthanize animals, but I understand that it is often in the best interest of everyone involved. I am certain a painless passing in a CO Chamber is more merciful than bleeding to death from a fight or slow starvation. I can assure you that we do treat the animals in a caring and humane way when we are called in to perform animal removal.
There are things you can do to help.
- Feral populations of cats are the result of owners not neutering or spaying their pets. Be responsible. Don’t contribute to the problem.
- Don’t attract wild animals to your property by providing food like trash or dog food.
- Keep your home or business well-maintained and secure so the animals can’t get inside and take up residence.
- If you do find that a wild animal is living on your property, act quickly before they breed and a whole group of animals must be removed.
