Yes. If people are going to NOT kill a critter of Iowa, let it be the possum/opossum or however its spelled. Those things are pretty harmless.
Save the raccoons!
- Thread starter CoachHines3
- Start date
Yes. If people are going to NOT kill a critter of Iowa, let it be the possum/opossum or however its spelled. Those things are pretty harmless.
Maybe because the majority of people pushing for school vouchers are not from Iowa.
Go look up Priscilla and appears she is located in Connecticut so why is the DMR wasting their time giving her a platform? If this was some Iowa organization or something may have more relevance but her title is president of Friends of Animals which is some eastern US non-profit org so guessing either she blasted this op-ed out to a bunch of newspapers to run or has a connection at the DMR? Either way she can go pound sand IMO.
My thoughts on raccoons are they are just another rodent and the population could use some control. They are nowhere near danger of being an endangered species. I know my parents and their neighbors have a heck of a time trying to control them around their farms. My dad has live traps out and will drive them 5-10 miles away to release and some weeks can catch up to 5-10 and the neighbor 1/4 mile down the road has caught close to 20 in a week I think. Personally I would just kill a few here in there if it was my call. My parents have some barn cats they feed and they have their cat food in a sturdy metal barrel with a lid on it and they've put some big rocks and cinder blocks on top of that lid and the raccoons still have found a way to get those off and into the barrel which is another reason I consider them a rodent as they are destructive to property. I put them right up there with groundhogs, moles and other annoying species that destroy property. I'm not a big fan of rabbits and squirrels either to be honest. We have no problem killing rodents like mice and rats that destroy property but seem to have a different mindset with other species because they are "cute" or whatever reason we want to justify for not controlling their population better.
My thoughts on raccoons are they are just another rodent and the population could use some control. They are nowhere near danger of being an endangered species. I know my parents and their neighbors have a heck of a time trying to control them around their farms. My dad has live traps out and will drive them 5-10 miles away to release and some weeks can catch up to 5-10 and the neighbor 1/4 mile down the road has caught close to 20 in a week I think. Personally I would just kill a few here in there if it was my call. My parents have some barn cats they feed and they have their cat food in a sturdy metal barrel with a lid on it and they've put some big rocks and cinder blocks on top of that lid and the raccoons still have found a way to get those off and into the barrel which is another reason I consider them a rodent as they are destructive to property. I put them right up there with groundhogs, moles and other annoying species that destroy property. I'm not a big fan of rabbits and squirrels either to be honest. We have no problem killing rodents like mice and rats that destroy property but seem to have a different mindset with other species because they are "cute" or whatever reason we want to justify for not controlling their population better.
from this post I'd guess she sent it out to newspapers hoping it got picked up and the dmr was dumb enough to do it.
can someone tell me why a person from Connecticut is getting an opinion piece in the dmr?
Priscilla Feral
Priscilla Feral is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Priscilla Feral and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected.www.facebook.com
Hmmm... with a her last name "Feral" ....imagine the possibilities....
( Sorry I had to go there)
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal that may have fueled her article
www.wsj.com
Iowa Considers Allowing Year-Round Hunt of Corn-Gobbling Raccoons
With the growth of suburbia and more planting of row crops, the animals have flourished—and generated nuisance complaints.
www.wsj.com
I don't mind raccoons.
What I hate are muskrats, they destroy my ponds. The second I see one swimming I run to garage, get the gun and shoot that ******. I think I've shot 12 over the last couple years.
What I hate are muskrats, they destroy my ponds. The second I see one swimming I run to garage, get the gun and shoot that ******. I think I've shot 12 over the last couple years.
If she had a sow figure out how to climb up her house, rip the attic vent off, give birth and raise the little ones in the attic of the home, then come back the following year and do it again....Priscilla would think much differently. (Imagine the mess they make in the attic)
Not to get off subject but growing up I had to learn about how to address some of these animal rights/activists types when we would show cattle and some activist could approach you at a cattle show and try to influence the kids there. The cattle and livestock shows IMO were some of the dumbest places for these people to push their agendas as the cattle you show are some of the most pampered animals on the farm. They get bathed, fed better, put under fans in hot weather, etc. which are all things they would not get if you let them battle the elements as part of the herd. I don't recall ever having to deal with 1 of these people but I always had a response ready which would have been "yup that calf sure looks like she hates that clean bedding and fan she is laying under right now after she just got a bath this morning and she got a bath this morning too so what a rough life huh?" Not to mention if we just stopped killing animals as a food source they would quickly overpopulate to the point you wouldn't be able to even drive down the street anymore if they roamed free and mated whenever they wanted.
/end rant
/end rant
I have one in my pond that i couldn't ever get last summer. Id walk over to the pond with the 20 gauge and not see it.
id walk over there with no gun and, of course, see it. every. time.
I think you've pretty much nailed it. I've recently lost four chickens to raccoon predation. The telltale sign is that raccoons will typically just eat the head and gizzard. But like you say, this is our fault. We put food scraps out for the chickens, and we have a compost pile...and of course, fresh chicken brains available if we forget to close the barn door. If the problem persists, i may live-trap and relocate to the forest. However, lethal measures are not off the table.
Opinion: Do the right thing — protect raccoons
Opinion: Iowa does not have the right to kill raccoons or other wildlife just because it deems it a nuisance, writes Priscilla Feral.www.desmoinesregister.com
sorry guys- i need to post this to vent and make fun of the author.
what the hell is this piece? i get its an opinion piece.
raccoons are notorious for carrying rabies. we farmers are basically calling the raccoons in because of our crops and the grain that we have laying around, so its our fault they show up! When they tear into bags of feed or tear into other stuff its our fault too.
I for one, will generally catch a coon in a live trap and release it elsewhere. I have shot and killed a few boar coons because those things are big and mean and I don't need my dogs getting in a fight with them.
priscilla if youre on cf go get f*cked.
Where i do take issue is with people using rabies or disease as a reason for killing raccoons, bats, etc. The chances of an animal carrying rabies is rare. And even more rare to find a live raccoon with rabies because they only live a few days with the disease.
Yeah I think the ones here are on to me. They mess with me like that too.
I wonder if a 12 gauge would be easier I use a 22.
My general impression is that roadkill fatalities of her beloved Rocky Raccoons (particularly the family group at once) far outweighs any hunting attrition.
i had a rat or rats kill a chicken, even.
i know this because i caught the rat in a snare and this rats tail was damn near 2 feet long.
I thought it was a mink until i actually caught it. pour chickens are always the hunted!
I have a single shot 22 but i like to use the 20 gauge for that type of stuff so I can aim in the general area and know at least one of them pellets will penetrate
I do so much grilling/outdoor cooking. Every night at 2am I get a group of Trash Pandas that show up and start checking around for dropped scraps, drip pans, etc. Then at 3am, the opossum shows up and does the same, even when I don't grill. It was a double edged sword, for a while I used to try and lock everything up, but they would just tear everything apart to get to the grease traps. So now, I just use the foil inserts and leave that out for them to lick clean. Probably not the best way to go about it, but at least they aren't tearing up my grill covers and tipping over my garbage can.
Hedge fund bros bailing on New York and moving to Austin.
Must have brought a few NYC trash pandas along with them.
