There should be a raccoon appreciation day as well, not just one for squirrels.
We have trouble with an overpopulation of raccoons here. Squirrels and bunnies as well.
The city has gone on a rampage trying to clear out wild or feral cats from the residential areas. Now we have an overage of what they used to eat.
I love to see all these animals all over the town so I do not just shoot them, but I do NOT like them in my garage or dumping my garbage in the alley.
I have heard that raccoons are good to eat, but never tried it. I know rabbits and squirrels are delicious.
On another point, similar, I see more of the native kestrels and tiny immature hawks gorging on the rabbits and squirrels. Unfortunately, those raptor kin are also ravaging the mourning doves and cardinals as well.
I can not think of a balanced solution. The whole thing makes my mind sweat.
It would be wise if they did trap/neuter/return for the ferals. When you do a neuter/spay the colony will naturally die out on its own without such a jarring upset in the balance of the food chain, and it also won't keep growing at a rapid pace.
Currently thinking that I wish I could get a decent amount of sleep.
Around here with the new mayor's city initiative, all they did was catch and euthanize.
Your plan would be better, but it seems that those with more determine the outcomes and some in the better neighborhoods were complaining about cats making noise at night. So, a city - wide moratorium on feral cats began.
I actually do not mind the feral cats. They do not bother our garbage, they keep pesky rodents, which try to invade our homes, in check, they really only make noise at certain times and they are fascinating to watch. Kind of like birdwatching for the pure pleasure, cat watching can be similarly entertaining.
But, getting one to come up to you and allow a capture where it can be placed into the hands of the Humane Society (where they do not euthanize) is a good feeling.
I actually fed them things that they liked, like when we have a chicken or a turkey. I do not want to trust my dog to eat chicken bones (always did that when I was a kid, but with nowadays understanding of how dogs eat - not so smart) because cats can eat them without endangering themselves.
I have a huge compost pile of kitchen garbage and grass and leaf litter which I turn every other week or so, but I do not put anything in that will harm my scavenging dog. The hollow bones go outside the fence.
Having a program in place that supports spay/neuter for strays seems far more humane than a catch and kill thing.
On the other remark:
I go between thinking that sleep is way over rated and it is THE final thing that I need to wrap this all up and be done.
