For several months, my father has been raising chickens in a coop on his property. At one point, he had over 200 of them. Then, a band of marauding raccoons discovered the roost and devoted themselves to finding ways to get inside. Over the next month, about 160 were slaughtered, and far too much time spent repairing and reinforcing the coop.

After purchasing a Havahart trap, he caught several raccoons, each time calling animal control officers to remove them (at my mother's behest). And while the county officers are willing to drive far outside town to perform their duties, they aren't wanting to do it every day for the forseeable future. They have let him know this by strenuously mentioning that, if he didn't want to keep calling them, it would be perfectly legal and they would have no problems with him killing the raccoons he traps.

This morning, there's another raccoon in the trap. Since I'm visiting, I've been asked if I'd mind killing it. I don't particularly want to, since shooting can be messy. Besides, he does look awful cute and helpless (for a cold-hearted chicken killer).

Of course, shooting is relatively quick and painless. The alternative is to drop the trap into one of the ponds on the property and drown him. But this terrifies the animal and takes a couple of minutes.

If I could purchase a bait that would cause the animal in the trap to go to sleep for a while, dispatching him would be much simpler. I could either dig a grave, settle him gently in it, and shoot him cleanly before burial, or drown him without having to endure the panicked yelping and spectacle of an animal which knows it is doomed.

(No, this isn't really a sport, but I couldn't find an Animal: Control category).
-- Guncrazy, Jun 16 2004

Raccoons in the attic. http://www.aaanimal...m/atticraccoon.html
This company will remove a raccoon for 50 bucks. Unless it's in the attic, in which case it's $225. [Amos Kito, Oct 04 2004]

Fair warning. http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/bite.htm
[Amos Kito, Oct 04 2004]

beer sausage http://www.koeneman...85&CFTOKEN=46001983
can also be made from drunken raccoons? [FarmerJohn, Oct 04 2004]

I can't belive you would consider drowning a trapped animal.
-- simonj, Jun 16 2004


Why can't you do what another celebrated halfbaker does and let them die naturally, by setting the dogs on them?
-- DrCurry, Jun 16 2004


Why do you feel so differently about killing racoons than killing chickens? Perhaps you would feel better if you built a racoon coop for the racoons you trap to live in, and waited for one of their natural predators to track it down and do the job for you?
-- dobtabulous, Jun 16 2004


Educate 'em. Show 'em how sad the surviving chickens are. Make them realise what they've done. Then tag them electronically and release them back into the wilds. Three strikes, and you set the biggest, heaviest cockerels (roosters) you can find on 'em.
-- david_scothern, Jun 16 2004


If we're assuming a cheap, (relatively) safe anesthesia, why not just overdose the thing while it sleeps? No muss, no fuss.
-- phoenix, Jun 16 2004


Here's a better idea: knock 'em out with your drug there, collect them in a large bin, and release them a few miles from where you are. I'm sure they'll find food there, too.

Tag 'em, too, to make sure you're releasing them far enough away that they won't come back.

It's far more humane, and lets people like [contracts] do the messy work for you.
-- shapu, Jun 16 2004


I would suggest a gas spray... some substance or gas that needs long exposure to affect the victim, to prevent people from being accidently affected. Note: stuff like ether and chloroform should be avoided as they give you a rush (with the risk of overdoses).. Otherwise local farm boys would sneak out to stick their heads in the racoon traps at night.
-- undercover_neandertal, Jun 16 2004


evil!

Send it in a box to some tree huggers.

I dissapprove of drowning helpless animals.
-- DesertFox, Jun 16 2004


Simply leave it in a room with a loaded pistol for a few minutes. If it's a gentleman it'll do the decent thing. If it doesn't then set the dogs on the blasted chicken killing cad, like the good doctor suggests.
-- spacemoggy, Jun 16 2004


I like the spray angle maybe hooked to motion sensors out side the pen. Or better yet train watch skunks, they'd probably work for eggs.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 16 2004


Could you mix anything that makes them drunk?

I know a butcher who feeds his pigs dregs from a brewery before slaughter. He swears that the meat is much better because the drunk pigs were not stressed just before they died. The meat is much better, but the reason may be that his pigs live happily outside in the mud until the day of slaughter.

There is also a drink in Germany called Bärenfang. It is honey with alcohol (70% proof). Legend is that you put it out for a bear and then easily kill the bear while it is drunk. Since there are no wild bears left in Germany the poor hunters now have to drink the stuff themselves.
-- kbecker, Jun 16 2004


Since there are no wild bears left in Germany the poor hunters now have to drink the stuff themselves.

Must work well then. Actually though getting the pigs drunk is a really good idea, some places have been known to dope pigs up with valium before slaughter for the same reason. All things considered I prefer the beer approach, since it means a non-valium laced pork chop
-- brewer, Jun 17 2004


Yes, alcohol should work fine. Give them enough and in time they will pass out. Give them too much and they may die, which in this case actually saves you some time.
-- luecke, Jun 17 2004


Quick note...Rather than continuing to drown the nocturnal fowl filchers we've been catching, beneficent Nature herself seems to have provided us with an alternative solution.

A four-foot alligator has taken up residence in the irrigation canal that runs behind the coop.

I can't wait to visit this weekend...
-- Guncrazy, Jul 06 2004



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