Shut Down Wildlife Services?
The Times- Standard reports an effort by local animal rights activists to shut down the local Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services. These are the guys that come to your home to remove critters like skunks, raccoons or what have you. I recall Wildlife Services agent Jace Comfort telling me he'd once removed an alligator from the pond at College of the Redwoods.
We called them once. It took a couple of weeks to remove the family of skunks that was living underneath our house. I was grateful for their help and didn't know where else to turn. We'd contacted the Eureka Animal Control officer. She just gave us the usual namby, pampy suggestions of trying to chase the skunks out by making them feel uncomfortable. She never mentioned the possibility of using Wildlife Services to remove them. I felt that was negligent on her part.
We should support Wildlife Services. I hope they stay around. We'll have countless more incidences of animal infestations, along with the related spreading of disease, without them. If there's any problem with Wildlife Services, it's that they're spread so far and few between. I believe there's just one main guy up here, but he has one or two others that cover for him on occasion.
In fairness, I suppose the services they offer could be provided by the private sector, although that wouldn't satisfy the animal rights folks. I've seen a number of outfits like Pesky Critters on the Animal Planet channel that remove all sorts of animals for a fee. I'm not sure how well that would work, though, as many people wouldn't want to pay the fee so would just ignore their animal problems and let things get worse.
I say keep Wildlife Services.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 9:51 AM
10 comments
10 Comments:
So this is a govt entity you don't consider to be superfluos? Care to cite any others?
Wildlife Services is very low impact. They provide service when called (if you can find them. Last time I tried to they weren't even in the phone book) and cost very little. I'm sure I could think of some others if I wanted to think about it for a while.
I suspect Wildlife Services employees are working 40 hours a week like everyone else. So, if they're not answering public service calls, what are we paying them to do? Sit around?
Don't get me wrong. I fully support the service, but I also support virtually every other government service. "Government" isn't a dirty word. It's a point of pride.
I say keep 'em. We're going to have more visits from critters during this drought.
How did Wildlife Services remove the skunk family, Fred?
I suspect Wildlife Services employees are working 40 hours a week like everyone else.
I'm not sure about the 40 hour work week. Jace Comfort told me once he makes something like $35k a year(?not sure about the number). He said it may not pay well but he gets to keep his own hours.
He goes all over, though. I remember once him saying he had to go up towards Trinity County to deal with some bear in a national park. Next day he may end up driving to Southern Humboldt or beyond. His gas bill must be substantial.
"How did Wildlife Services remove the skunk family,.."
There were 7 or 8 of them and they were caught in live traps, except for one that I shot myself (that stunk up the backyard and house for some time). We'd catch them in the traps, then take them out to a place he has in the hills where they're "euthanized"(my word).
He'd leave one trap and I'd bait it with peanut butter on a piece of bread. They'd usually go for it right away. I'd call him when I knew one was in the trap, he'd come pick it up and leave another trap.
He tried to work just Monday thru Friday so he'd come pick up all his traps by Friday afternoon so there was no chance of anything staying in the traps longer than necessary. He'd bring the trap by again Monday and we'd start over again.
One time I caught one without even baiting the trap. I didn't like the idea of the skunk being in the trap any longer than necessary, either, so I didn't bait the trap right away but opened it up and set the trigger. I figured I'd bait the trap before I went to bed.
I set the trap maybe 5pm a bit outside my back door figuring I'd only need to toss the bread and peanut butter in there in a few hours. I was sitting at the computer just a few minutes later when Connie came in and asked if I baited the trap. I hadn't, but she said there was something already in it. Yep, the skunk smelled something in it so went in and got trapped early.
I might add that before we started trapping, I went around the house and blocked off every conceivable avenue where I thought they might get under the house. They kept getting in one way or the other. One time it seemed almost genius the way they did it(just ask).
There was no other way to deal with it than to have them removed with prejudice. I realized later it's pretty much the only way to deal with things like that in the city. If I did manage to block them out of the house they'd just find someone else' place to move into. And they keep having more and more kittens.
BTW; A friend who also knew Jace told me he told her the most skunks he ever pulled out of one place was 17 from under an outbuilding in Myrtletown.
I've never had any problems with skunks, Fred, and that includes one time staying at a run-down cabin as a homeless person decades ago where civet cats came in most every night looking for food scraps or whatever. The owner never bothered them and they never bothered her or me. No smelling up the place and that goes for regular skunks too which neither she or I have ever had any problems with. This is a woman who faced down a black bear at her front door who had been coming in and ripping the cooler box open to get food. She told the bear to go away and it did. A raccoon family was terrorizing my neighbor who they chased off her own front porch going for her garbage cans. I lived right beside her trailer and I had this new little kitten so I made a deal with the raccoons . I would feed them my table scraps in exchange for them leaving my kitten alone and also my trailer. So every night I placed my dinner plate with scraps on it on top of the trailer roof where the raccoons came to get it climbing up the trees close to the trailer. They were inches away from my hands and for the years I lived there they never bothered my kitten or came into the trailer which they could do anytime they wanted through the kitty door. I've often made deals with animals and they keep their ends much better than humans keep contracts.
We humans have a choice to either wipe out all wildlife around our homes or change our attitudes and yes, learn to live with them like the people did before us who lived with grizzly bears for crying out loud, Fred, and you're unable to deal with a family of skunks without having them offed...
I know European-Americans are unused to hearing about living close with wildlife as they have lost touch in Europe thousands of years ago with that ability that Native Americans still had until we came here. I have a hard time getting this message across as a kind of ambassador for animals to human beings. Animals are naturally cooperative and given half a chance WANT to interact positively with human beings. They consistently go out of their way when I've offered them opportunity to form communication with me through food tidbits, just token amounts of food but giving the Message I'm not here to kill you but let's work together on coexistence.
My food scraps go to animals instead of the garbage can and my house has birds coming here and snakes and newts and alligator lizards coming in through the open door sometimes and having me show them out gently with the broom. Same for bees or wasps or flies that come in. We get skunks here but not smelling up the place. But this is Rio Dell and special where I can call ravens out of the sky now because they know there's this human being who likes them and has these dollar store fig bar pieces, wowser! Now if I can only get Spider Woman who's set up her nest in my car somewhere to let me wash my car of her webs, little jumping spider webs. I miss seeing her in the door near the hinges but she got sick and tired of all the door openings and closings she had to dodge and moved. But I know she's there because she leaves webs across the door that I have to break to get in. I'll tell you about how to live with black widow spiders next and then pacific rattlesnakes or they could have been timber rattlers. We have this course here at the Pope Francis Academy for Animal Vespering that I teach on my good days..
2001-11-06Time: Night (18:46), Operator: Horizon Air, Aircraft: DHC8 DASH 8 (Airplane), Mass: 5,701 - 27,000 kg, Engines: 2, Power Type: Turboprop, Flight: 165, Remains Collected: No, Runway: 14/32, Phase of Flight: Take-off run, Birds Struck: 1, Species: MULE DEER, Damage: Minor, Strikes/Damages: Struck & Damaged Landing Gear, Effect On Flight: Aborted Take-off, Out Of Service: 9000 h, Other Costs: $11383, Report Type: Multiple
Comments: SOURCE = DAILY REPORT APPLICATION & LETTER
Remarks: WHEN A/C HAD REACHED DEPTR SPEED, DEER RAN ACROSS RWY AND WAS STRUCK. ROTATE SPEED, NOSE WAS OFF THE GROUND. DEER APPARENTLY WENT UNDER PROP AND BTWN THE TIRES, DESTROYING THE HYDRAULIC LINES. LANDING GEAR DOOR WAS DAMAGED. BLACK-TAILED DEER (SUBSPECIES OF MULE DEER)2000-08-27Operator: Skywest Airlines, Aircraft: EMB-120 (Airplane), Mass: 5,701 - 27,000 kg, Engines: 2, Power Type: Turboprop, Registration: N562SW, Remains Collected: No, Speed: 80 knots, Phase of Flight: Landing Roll, Birds Seen: 1, Birds Struck: 1, Species: MULE DEER, Damage: Substantial, Strikes/Damages:Struck & Damaged Propeller, Struck & Damaged Fuselage, Effect On Flight: Other, Out Of Service: 100000 h, Other Costs: $130249, Report Type: Multiple
Comments: SOURCE = MEMO, NEW REPT & WEST/PACIFIC WILDLIFE HAZARDS
Remarks: RWY WAS CLOSED FOR CLEANING AFTER DEER STRIKE. NO FLIGHTS WERE DELAYED. PILOT SWERVED TO AVOID DEER BUT RT PROP STRUCK THE DEER AND THREW IT INTO THE RT SIDE OF THE FUSELAGE AND THEN BACK TO IMPACT THE PROP. PILOTS HAVE REPORTED THE DEER JUST STAY ON THE RWY WHEN PLANES LAND.
Read more: http://www.city-data.com/airports/Arcata-Airport-Eureka-California.html#NWSI#ixzz37QhwlxBe
2005-03-21Time: Dusk (18:50), Sky: No Cloud, Precipation: None, Operator: Ameriflight, Aircraft: PA-31 NAVAJO (Airplane), Mass: 2251 - 5700 kg, Engines: 2, Power Type: Reciprocating engine (piston), Registration: N6233L, Flight: 230, Remains Collected: Yes, Remains Sent: No, Runway: 29, Phase of Flight: Take-off run,Birds Struck: 1, Species: MULE DEER, Damage: Substantial, Strikes/Damages: Struck & Damaged Engine 2, Struck & Damaged Propeller, Struck & Damaged Landing Gear, Effect On Flight: Aborted Take-off, Out Of Service: 10000 h, Other Costs: $11246, Report Type: Multiple
Comments: SOURCE = xxxx-x, AWP WILDLIFE HAZARDS, INCIDENT REPT AAIPN & AON DAILY LOSSES.
Remarks: PILOT ABORTED T/O AFTER DEER HIT ONE OF THE ENGINES. DMG TO PROP & ENG.2005-02-10Time: Dawn (07:05), Sky: No Cloud, Precipation: None, Operator: Westair, Aircraft: C-208 (Airplane), Mass: 2251 - 5700 kg, Engines: 1, Power Type: Turboprop, Registration: N846FE, Remains Collected: No, Runway: 29, Phase of Flight: Landing Roll, Birds Seen: 1, Birds Struck: 1, Species: MULE DEER, Damage:Substantial, Strikes/Damages: Struck & Damaged Propeller, Struck & Damaged Landing Gear, Effect On Flight: Other, Out Of Service: 10000 h, Repair Costs: $25000, Other Costs: $11246, Report Type: FAA Form 5200-7
Comments: SOURCE = xxxx-x & AIRLINE
Remarks: VIZ POOR DUE TO DARKNESS. I WAS ABOUT TO TOUCHDOWN WHEN A DEER RAN ONTO RWY. POWER WAS OFF AND IN A FLAR, NOT ABLE TO AVOID COLLISION. DEER RAN INTO PROP AND FRONT LDG GEAR. VIBRATION WAS INTENSE SO I COASTED OFF RWY AND SHUT ENG DOWN. DMG TO PROP AND POSSIBLY FRONT LDG GEAR. FREIGHT WAS OFFLOADED & A/C PUSHED TO TWY.
Read more: http://www.city-data.com/airports/Murray-Field-Airport-Eureka-California.html#NWSI#ixzz37Qid2jAm
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