Possum on the porch

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Jack Ryan

Single-Sixer
Joined
Aug 21, 2012
Messages
467
Location
Indiana
Possums eat ticks so they get a pass until they become a problem then they get put into the PRP
(Possum relocation program) New name, address, and identification where hopefully they make better decisions in the future, shame I can't do the same with the local democrats and liberals, unfortunately they have no redeeming qualities like eating ticks
No they don't eat any more ticks than any other mamal their size AND they carry some pretty serious diseases.

 

moparlou

Bearcat
Joined
Feb 17, 2017
Messages
6
Location
North East Tennessee
We almost lost our shooting privileges on BLM land in my area because of the backwater-jacks not picking up their garbage like t.v.'s and such they dragged on there to blast not to mention all the spent shells. We set-up a clean up party and went through it. The progressive Liberals made a Big stink about it as they had to jog by most of it, and being it's a college town to begin with we are on thin ice to start with.

If you even bury your poop the wrong way and the wrong place on BLM land while out camping and get caught you paying for it.

The backwater-jacks don't like it when they see me coming. I have zero tolerance or respect for these mofo's who are getting our gun rights taken away.
You ought to see "kamikaze" possums!!!! Back before I had to retire, oh at 2am on a 110 car loaded coal train, doing about 20 mph, saw some eyes shining about 100 yards away in the beam of the locomotives headlight, the stupid possum got up on the rail and started running toward us, blowing horn didn't phase it. Naturally no sound at all, just laughter from the engineer and me!!!! Now Contender, near your place, just north of Forest City or Bostic, where we can run 45 mph, hitting a deer makes a really loud bang sometime!!! I've killed enough wildlife with a GE loco, to feed the country a meal. Turkeys, Deer, coyote's etc..... not pleasant , like the suicidal possum. Hey Contender, it's 67 now in these Mountains of NE Tn. I probably have to go through those magazines and see if I can find a full page Remington ad featuring the 600 magnum, now that I have one!!!! will keep my eye open for the X GI ads, of course they will be much later than 65-68!!!
 

contender

Ruger Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
25,142
Location
Lake Lure NC USA
"That's great advice. From now on, I'll just blow their brains out."

Sadly,, part of my job is HAVING to dispatch any mammal that's a potential rabies vector. But the State does promote the concept of "Co-existing with wildlife." I spend a lot of time educating people about wildlife AND how to live with them & not having to kill them. Plus,, to actually trap & remove any animal that is causing a problem for homeowners etc,, there is a permit required. I'm an issuing agent for the State in these permits. But to actually issue a "Depredation Permit" I have certain criteria that must be met. And I have to follow up quarterly with reports to the State on all my activity.
Fortunately,, a major percentage of my work is dealing with squirrels & bats. Bats are Federally & State protected,, so they are a "NO KILL" species. But with both of these species,, I handle things to where none are injured or captured. I do not trap either species. I do a preventive home sealant of all the potential places either species might be capable of entering,, and then I install an exclusion device over any active openings. Any animals inside the home are capable of exiting, unharmed, naturally. Then, after a period of time, I return and remove the exclusion device, and seal that area as well.

Opossums are allowed to be relocated, so they get that treatment. BUT,, I must have, in writing permission from the land owner to release it there.
Raccoons which are high on the rabies vector list, as well as being a more aggressive species, are not allowed to be relocated. I have to put them down. And I even have restrictions on the methods I can legally use to dispatch an animal. Yes, shooting them is allowed.

I post this information to hopefully educate folks here,, and maybe save themselves some grief or worse,, legal or civil problems.

A good example I often share with people who feel it's "doing the right thing" by relocating a potential rabies vector is this.
Say you have a raccoon in a cage trap. You are going to "take it down to the creek or woods way" away from your house. On the drive,, you are involved in an accident. You are injured. And lets say an emergency worker tries to help you,, but the raccoon is no monger properly contained and bites the emergency worker. Now,, you are in need of medical care, AND so is the worker. And they may not be able top help you until the raccoon is properly dispatched. Guess who is not only in violation of some game laws,, but is also now liable for the medical care of the emergency worker? And what if your medical needs are critical,, and you die,, yet could have been saved if emergency help could have gotten to you?
Sadly, in this day & age of lawsuits & liability,, you are at fault for trying to "do the right thing" without knowing the legalities or the dangers.

Heck, in my job,, if a bat is found inside the sleeping quarters where someone has been asleep, the bat must be captured & sent for rabies testing. Guess what? I can capture it,, but I will NOT under ANY circumstances transport that bat. I put it in a container, alive, and seal the container. I then give it to the homeowner, AND have them sign a release form that they assume liability for the proper transport & testing of this bat. I also tell them who to call. But to additionally cover my butt legally,, I ALSO call the local Health Dept & the local Animal Control. Those are the (2) places a person can take the bat to for testing.

Just yesterday,, I had an emergency clinic call me about an animal bite. My phone was not immediately available to me,, and all I got was a voicemail. Later, I returned the call, and even though it was after hours by then, I kept the phone playing their recording, (which also said someone would be with me shortly) for 21 minutes. Many of the local agencies know to contact me for advice on animal issues.

Please use my info here to better educate yourself with your State's laws & the potential legal issues you may encounter when dealing with problem animals.
 

buckaroo

Banned
Joined
Oct 8, 2022
Messages
360
Location
U.S.A.
Howdy engineer moparlou, nothing defeats the 'mighty freight train' ! (nor stops it)
Perhaps the only thing left in America that can't be rewritten.

 

moparlou

Bearcat
Joined
Feb 17, 2017
Messages
6
Location
North East Tennessee
Howdy engineer moparlou, nothing defeats the 'mighty freight train' ! (nor stops it)
Perhaps the only thing left in America that can't be rewritten.

View attachment 11295
Thanks Buckaroo, I was just the lowly conductor,, even though I was supposed to be the "boss" of the train, but I only started in 98, first as a welder, then a conductor, only got 13 years in, then my aorta decided to split from the top of my arch, to my pelvis, spent 8 days in ICU, but that was 2012, I'm 67 now , wish I could still be there.
 
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Messages
9,933
Location
missouri
Ty makes some very good and important points relative to handling, relocating, and/or transporting wild animals.
One of my good friends had to go through the rabies vaccinations because he reached into a dog food sack w/o looking and was bitten by a possum that escaped after biting him.
I used to be quite cavalier about handling nuisance varmints but not any more. I'm too old, slow, and fragile to wrangle stupid barn raiders.
Folks, this ain't candyland and these aren't fuzzy, cuddly pets. A single bite/scratch can end up being a life threatening incident. Another thing: possums, raccoons, skunks, and such are nest predators that destroy thousands of game bird nests every year.
 
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Messages
9,933
Location
missouri
The vermin have upped the ante. Just looked out and not one but TWO skunks snooping around the deck stairs. Grabbed the 410 and walked out expecting them to take off. Nope didn't run. I was yelling and stomping trying to get them away so I could blast them. Finally threw a bag of potting soil toward them. One ran UNDER the deck but the other headed around the corner (downwind) so I went after that one. About the time the skunk cleared the house, my flashlite sputtered. So I'm barely able to keep up with the now in full retreat mode skunk, shaking my light trying to get 3 more seconds of illumination. I finally got close enough with just enough light to see muzzle and white stripe and gave it a 1/2 ounce of #6. Not following that shot up tonight. Wind's out of the south and skunk was north of house so I'm OK there. What I'm less sure of is whether I caught a bit of smelly during the chase. Since the big covid attack last January, my sense of smell is sketchy at best.
 

contender

Ruger Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
25,142
Location
Lake Lure NC USA
I deal with 20-40 skunks annually,, (not counting the people,) and I've never been sprayed. I trap & then dispose of them.
Ya just gotta know how to deal with them.
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2014
Messages
3,205
I've posted this before but still find it funny. My wife's cousin had a critter removal service for a while. His method for skunks was live trap, cover,
drop trap and skunk in pond and drown them. Personally that doesn't seem all that humane, but whatever. Anyway drops skunk in pond, wanders around a bit smokes a cigarette pulls out the trap and tosses the "dead" skunk and trap into the topper equipped bed of his pickup and drives home.
Gets home and opens the topper and drops the tailgate to one very pissed off ( apparently amphibious ) skunk who proceeded to spray the world
in retaliation.
 

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