MacAR
Member
Mac
What would you do re: Raccoons during deer season
- Thread starter daniel craig
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Mac
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
Opossums eat turkey and quail eggs? Oh no!!!! Oh wait, they have been doing that as part of nature for many thousands of years. It is part of the natural cycle of life.
Opossums carry disease that can make your horses sick? Oh no!!!! Every vertebrate and many invertebrates carry disease that can transfer to other vertebrate animals. The disease claim is downright naive considering we would need to kill all the animals to prevent the spread of disease, yet somehow we are perfectly happy with the diseases deer carry, turkey carry, etc.
Did you know that deer, antelope, bison, etc. trample the nests of ground dwelling birds? Yep. Cattle are particularly hard on ground dwelling bird nests. Horses can be as well. Goats aren't their friends, either.
Deer have been documented eating the eggs of ground dwelling birds as well...
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I hear the disease argument frequently about feral hogs. Yeah, they potentially carry a lot of diseases, about 80% or so that they have in common with deer. Deer get some that the hogs don't and vice versa.
The "they carry disease" is a narrative at the opposite end from the PETA narrative, and just as wrong.
The bottom line is that ALL WILDLIFE, FERAL, AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS ARE POTENTIAL DISEASE CARRIERS. People create all sorts of rationalizations to kill animals, some of which may be valid, some of which aren't when you consider the fact that if applied equally, would mean that we had to kill everything, LOL.
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Ranger99
Member
Maybe. I guess it might be possible.
I can say that they do not actively forage
for ticks for food. They do pick them off of
themselves and other possums while grooming. If they foraged for ticks, there
wouldn't be any ticks for us to worry about.
I'm not at all certain how the tick eating
myth got started.
I can say for sure that if it weren't for all
the food crops and bird nests and young
animals and chicken coops and loose
human trash and irresponsible neighbors
like I have here that put out piles of cat
food every day, that possums would most
likely be endangered or extinct
Those aren't rationalizations. They are reasons. If one has horses, EPM would be a darn good reason to kill any opossums on the property. I have chickens and the fact that opossums will steal the eggs and/or kill the chickens is a good reason to kill any opossums I see. And yes, I will happily kill raccoons and any other animal that is trying to steal the eggs or kill my chickens (except raptors, which are protected by federal law). If one doesn't have cattle, what difference does it make that cattle trample ground bird nests when considering whether to kill an opossum that raid those nests? One can't do anything about someone else's cattle, but one can shoot that opossum.
jmorris
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That came from someone that didn’t want others to kill them and came up with a reason not to.
The opposite of the guy that wanted them gone and stated the other fact that they could carry diseases.
Think of it as “footing” for your personal view, justification.
MacAR
Member
Really? Wow. I had a great response typed up, but then I realized it wouldn't do any good. It's apparent that you like possums and the majority of us here in N. Arkansas don't. And that's ok. So, if you'll give me your address I will ship all possums found in my area postpaid to you, free of charge.
Well said, sir. Well said.
Mac
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
When "reasons" are arbitrarily applied, they are rationalizations. Lots of wildlife carries diseases that may negatively impact and or kill horses. Do we need to kill all of them as well, or just opossums? Why single out just one possible threat when there are so many?
Ranger99
Member
Horses don't dig holes and get in my
shed and s*** and p*** on everything.
Horses don't eat my eggs and chickens.
You can't ride a possum
A possum can't pull a wagon or a plow
You can't get several thousand + on a
possum sale
But possums don't tear up fence or stalls
or require spending thousands in vet
and farrier bills
I can shoot a possum and tote it out to the
back fence corner and it all be gone in a
couple of days. A dead horse won't.
Id rather have a bunch of horse meat
than a bunch of possum meat
Main thing to remember is that animals
aren't humans and never will be no matter
how much somebody might wish it
to be so
shed and s*** and p*** on everything.
Horses don't eat my eggs and chickens.
You can't ride a possum
A possum can't pull a wagon or a plow
You can't get several thousand + on a
possum sale
But possums don't tear up fence or stalls
or require spending thousands in vet
and farrier bills
I can shoot a possum and tote it out to the
back fence corner and it all be gone in a
couple of days. A dead horse won't.
Id rather have a bunch of horse meat
than a bunch of possum meat
Main thing to remember is that animals
aren't humans and never will be no matter
how much somebody might wish it
to be so
If I had horses, I would try to reduce or eliminate their interaction with any animal that could transmit disease to them. One way of doing so, and often the only practical way with small, wild animals capable of climbing fences, is to kill them. As I stated, I do have chickens and try to reduce or eliminate their interaction with animals that are trying to kill them or eat their eggs.
I don't think you understand the difference between a rationalization and weighing the pros and cons of an action and then deciding how to proceed. Rationalization is when people seize on any justification for what they want to do anyway. For example, my goal is not to kill opossums and raccoons and I've seized on their threat to chickens as a justification to do so. This is evidenced by the fact that I've never hunted opossums or raccoons and I've never harmed one intentionally, UNTIL I had chickens. Now, if I see an opossum or coon in the yard I chase them and try to do them harm. The one raccoon I caught in the chicken run got a couple whacks with a shovel. I would very much like to shoot the hawks that come after the chickens, but I don't because it is illegal. The cons of harming the hawks are greater than benefits, so I don't do so.
I also kill all the mice that are in or near my house and all red squirrels that get near my house because they cause significant problems, but I don't kill every animal that gets near my house. For example, sparrows build nests where I would prefer they not do so. I could kill them, but I choose to live and let live because the cost to me of their nests is lower than the cost/effort of trying to get rid of them. Am I rationalizing my desire to kill mice and red squirrels? No, I'm just weighing pros and cons.
Why single out one threat when there are so many? Why try to solve any problem if you can't solve them all? Because solving any problem is better than solving none. I expect better reasoning from my children.
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whughett
Member
Coon can be quite tasty when prepared properly. I’ve had them at game dinners.
Chuck R.
Member
Well my initial 'coons that are eating my deer corn' trap set worked. One down.
I'll reset this afternoon and try for another. I've got to hit Orchelen's sometime this weekend to resupply anyway, so I'll probably pick up a couple more traps.
I'll reset this afternoon and try for another. I've got to hit Orchelen's sometime this weekend to resupply anyway, so I'll probably pick up a couple more traps.
twarr1
Member
To the OP - I’d carry the 9 loaded with rat shot. Yes. rat shot. Shot shell. And yes, I occasionally shoot tracers in my 9’s too.
Ranger99
Member
Deleted because of mistakes
Ranger99
Member
Get the glands out of the carcass and
it's not bad meat
Coons taste good if they're barbequed.
Ever try a turkey load on a coon?
Sounds cool
Patocazador
Member
OK, I am not going to try to "justify" my actions but I trap and kill every coon, possum, rat, coyote, or legal-season bobcat I can. I can 'rationalize' or 'reason' any of it. But there are waaay too many coons and possums now and I don't see that they do anything good. I know that they do not kill and eat rats because I have game camera photos showing them eating side by side. Coyotes have killed at least two of my just-born calves and both coons and bobcats kill quail (now extinct on my place) and turkeys. Currently, there are no bears or panthers (pumas) on my home 60 acres.
King Medallion
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Opossums eat a lot of ticks, they should be left alone
Patocazador
Member
The champion tick eater is a guinea hen. They make good watch dogs too. And they taste good if prepared properly.
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
Do they eat a lot of ticks? Maybe not.
https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/possums-dont-eat-ticks/
If possums eat small mammals, then they could destroy the host that ticks use, like the white footed mouse common in Wisconsin. Also, there are some areas in Wisconsin, that have so many raccoons that have rabies, there is an open, shoot on site order on them.
jmorris
Member
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Looks like the tick haters need to also quit eating chicken, no Turkey and you need to create better fire ant habitats…
I can attest to Chickens wiping out food sources for other critters though. I had ridiculous armadillo problems being bordered by creeks and tree lines on both sides. I lost count of how many were relocated to other worlds before I let the chickens have free range. Once the food source in the yard dried up the TX speed bumps quit coming out of the woods.
jmorris
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Which is what the owner of the land the OP hunts on requested.
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