Had to kill an animal this morning

Sorry you had to shoot him.

I caught one that was digging under my deck a few years ago with a Havahart trap...



We used a can of cat food as bait, and let him go in a local park.

 

Well, he didn't.

We put an old blanket over the cage and he settled down just fine in the back of my SUV.

 

I had to dispatch a skunk on my back porch a while back that was about to get into it with my two dogs. Last thing I want to have to clean up is a couple of skunked up dogs. And I am pretty sure nature isn't going to miss one skunk.

 

Have had problems with a Possum lately. Neighbor lady has a shed with a hole in the floor and they like to nest there and then come over to my place for foraging and water from our pool. Our dogs go ballistic when they go outside and catch the scent. Bought a trap like the one above and asked the neighbor to set it up in her shed. She caught a Cat; which wasn't too happy when she let it out. Now she doesn't want to use the trap, so I've been setting it up along the side of my house where they go. Nothing so far. I suspect the cat spread the word . The wildlife society won't take them so I'll probably make a run to the river and let it go near there.

 

Bummer, Norton. Skunks can be very territorial. The fact that he skunked up the place tells me he felt threatened by something else. Something ELSE to worry about. Hope it's not an armadillo. I just found out those things carry the PLAGUE! Not every single one of course, but they can carry it, with no ill effects to themselves.

Even we guys who hunt, feel a twinge of remorse, when an animal dies. If you don't, there might be something wrong with you.

 

I recently moved to the country from the city and haven't encountered anything like that yet though I have heard coyotes in the fields in the area a few times and the Barn Dog has barked a couple times at night (she dosen't bark very often and for no reason). But a gun may be in the future for such times.

 

Your heartwarming story of survival against insurmountable odds has inspired me to dispatch with extreme prejudice, the feral male cat who has been stinking up my yard and tormenting my dog. Cat tacos on Saturday night for sure!

 

We trap and relocate skunks. Once they're in the cage, they get bored and fall asleep. The cage doesn't allow enough room for them to raise their tail up in order to spray, so there's no trouble with that. They were a serious enough pest problem a couple of years ago that I would have liked to have shot a few, but both the city and state would frown on that.

 

Actually, they carry leprosy. Rodents usually are the plague carriers.

 

Dont forget mankind . .The biggest pest of all ,but the female of the species can sure fool you .

 

Or you're a cat: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill

 

I had a Springer Spaniel that was my bird hunting partner for years. When he was a pup, I took him pheasant hunting with a friend and his dog. We got to some soy bean field edges he started acting strange. He went down in this ditch and about 50 ft down the ditch he came back up and about 10 ft in front of him was a skunk.
Well, as everyone knows, the way that dogs identify is by sticking their nose in the butt of the other animal. When he tried that the skunk let loose. He yelped and ran back to me and went on heel.
It took two months to get the stink out of his fur. I had him shaved and bathed even.
When I brought him in, the woman who was grooming him asked me if I had killed the skunk. I said no. She said, "Too bad. Skunks are nocturnal and if they are out during the day they are most likely ill with rabies or some other disease. If you see them at either night or day, you should pop them. They carry loads of communicable diseases."
I told her that my dog had not touched the skunk and it hadn't attacked other than to spray.
Later, I was telling my buddy about this, and he said, "Yeah, not only do they carry diseases, but they also, along with Coyotes, racoons, and foxes, eat all of the grouse and pheasant eggs. They are wiping out the species in some areas."
You more than likely did your family and the skunk a big favor.

 

yes

 

Cat tacos are quite tasty, marinate the meat in some fajita marinate, or some lime juice and garlic if you can't find any, grill over hardwood charcoal...