What to do with trapped raccoons?

Anyone close by that has lots of dogs, them guys are always looking for meat. You could eat them there pretty good once you take the glands out. Are you keeping the fur.

See if there is a local trapping club, you can roll the fur up and freeze them.

If I were close by i would take it if it were a bigger size to get tanned from a nother state where the hide woukd be more prime.

Do you know how to case skin an animal?

IMHO, they are not worth fooling with. Choot `em.

WhitetailKiller said:

I’m not going to use a live trap because I know these things are way to smart.

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They're not that smart. I've caught bunches of them in live traps. Some I killed on the spot, and others I dropped off in the country if I happened to be heading to the farm.

Dog food. Cooked to rid them.if parasites.

WhitetailKiller said:

I recently bought a dukes raccoon trap so a healthy release is not really possible without me getting scratched and bitten. I want to put the animal to use and not just kill it and toss it in a ditch but these dang things keep eating all my deer corn!! What can I do with the raccoon after I’ve dispatched it to not let it go to waste. I’m not going to use a live trap because I know these things are way to smart.

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^^^^^^


I think you are giving them too much credit. I use both types of traps (live traps and dog proof traps/Duke). While it is easier to set out a bunch of Duke Traps, coons will also go into live traps. But if you 'relocate' a live raccoon....be sure to take it several miles away or it will just come right back.

I understand you are struggling with the thought of 'wasting' the carcass and pelt....but unless you plan on catching dozens of raccoons, I wouldn't be too concerned about it. When a raccoon dies 'naturally' in the woods....it is consumed to a degree and the rest decomposes, but it certainly is not 'wasted', unless you define 'wasted' only as having served a human purpose.

Personally, I don't worry about raccoons eating corn that has already been broadcast. But I won't tolerate large numbers of them climbing a feeder and spinning it out, or clawing at the thrower or cage around it.

Raccoons are vermin, understand not wanting to be wasteful but no one crys for the mouse that gets squished in a trap - I don't see raccoons any different. I'm sure there are guys who eat it but they're just nasty critters.

I’ve had raccoon, supposedly, at game dinners. Dark meat in a stew. Tasty, not a clue on how to prepare. YouTube video??

Find a guy with coon dogs and let him have at it a few nights. The dogs wont scare deer cause we ran coon dogs and saw deer next day. Shoot and leave is what we do. I hate it, but when you got 30 on camera on a corn pile something needs done.

If you want to dispatch them, a #220 connibear in a bucket or box set is a far cheaper and more effective option than box style live traps and will dispatch the critter for you. Squared cat litter pails work best. If you are up to skinning, a company called USA Foxx will take your shipped, frozen pelts and tan and produce some really cool product from them. My wife wears a sheared beaver coat and hat for special occasions. Cost a pretty penny, but has payed for itself as a pretty good get out of jail free card for various manly transgressions real or imagined.
https://www.amazon.com/Duke-Double-Spring-Body-Spread/dp/B0031TOEPE
https://www.usafoxx.com/

.22 Short to the head and chuck 'em in a ditch. Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms.

In all honesty, they are nuisance animals that serve no real purpose (to me) other than to raid my garden and chicken house. Years ago, a good coon hide was worth 20 or 30 dollars after it was fleshed and dried, and I sold a good many in my youth. Now, unfortunately, the market isn't there for them so it's not worth the time and effort to skin them. I have eaten them, too. They're greasy critters, and I'm not a big fan of them. Personally, I'll stick with squirrel and rabbit.

Mac

Use them for catfish bait. Or if you have a private pond hang it over water let the maggots drop into water.

gspn said:

They're not that smart. I've caught bunches of them in live traps. Some I killed on the spot, and others I dropped off in the country if I happened to be heading to the farm.

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You trapped 'em. You shoot 'em. Dumping your responsibilities on someone else is pretty low.

You can make toothpicks...

I let them go in South Carolina. They can have them. Hah.

Before anyone gets outraged, that is a joke. Probably illegal too. Who knows.

I have an acquaintance who runs and trains coon dogs and has a few of them as pets. Don’t know what he does with them but he is glad to take them. I may give only 2-3/yr though. Only the ones I get around my house.

Jack Ryan said:

You trapped 'em. You shoot 'em. Dumping your responsibilities on someone else is pretty low.

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Yes, putting a few raccoons in a 150,000 acre national forest, or on my own farm is "dumping the problem on someone else".

Your unthinking response is the type of thing that makes this site worse. Please think, ask questions, and analyze rather than going for a gold medal in jumping to conclusions.

Learn to tan them yourself. Or learn how to mount them. Keep seeing stuffed animals on CL. Just a thought. Might be able to use tails to make fishing lures. Coonskin hats for kid's. Use them for coyote bait. Make some BBQ with them. Grandma said they are good slow smoked. Make a jacket liner with furs. Dog food/cat food. If there is a animal sanctuary nearby they might take them to feed animals. The only limit is imagination and skills.

Jack Ryan said:

You trapped 'em. You shoot 'em. Dumping your responsibilities on someone else is pretty low.

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It's also illegal in Texas. Trapped raccoons must be killed or released on the trapper's own property. You can't make them "someone else's problem".

I’ve cooked entire coons in a slow cooker with teriyaki marinade or some barbecue sauce. I cook them until the meat falls off the bone. A darker meat, that tastes similar to pork. You can make pulled raccoon sandwiches. They are not really lean, some bigger ones can get some fat on them, Especially if they are raiding your feeders.

I think they taste good, but some people would never consider eating one. I also tend to like other small game too though, like squirrels or ground hogs. Give them a try, or bury them in the back yard. They are not scarce.

Better check your laws here you cannot cross water with them, alive. The young ones are pretty fair eating but the older ones need to be pressure cooked or they are tough or make jerky.

As long as they don’t cause trouble, I just feed them.



Lots more destructive things at our place.