Any Ideas on How to Help These Squirrels?
I have to leave, but I just received this plea. I’ll be able to moderate here and there, so if you have any ideas, please comment. This is all I know:
I have turned to the humane society, the local DEP, and local agencies and noone wants to help. My neighbor is trapping and killing squirrels in her yard just because she doesnt want them walking in her yard.
The way I see it its their habitat, WE took it from them when we built houses so they belong here as long as they arent in the houses chewing up the attics, or doing damage. The people I have contacted, will not do anything about this. It kills me as some of these squirrels are close to people friendly and because they are getting trapped and escaping somehow theyre ending up bloody and hurt, then running around injured.
Who do i go to next? What can i do? Legally? I know what Id like to do..but i cant legally. What do you suggest?
I would suggest talking to her, as I’m all about confrontation, but in a tactful way. Not sure if that’s possible here.
Anyone . . . anyone . . .
Since I've got some experience in the area of wildlife regulations,etc. I'll try to answer as best I can. The question that needs to be asked is what is the legal status of squirrels in that state ( Florida, I would assume? ). Is it legal to simply trap them as vermin ( like mice ), are they considered a game species, or rather something else entirely like a non-game protected species ( not likely with squirrels ). If they can be legally trapped as vermin, then she is in fact violating no law and there is no legal action that can be taken. If they are considered a game species, however, then as a general rule in most states, one needs a permit such as a trapping permit or small game license in order to trap or hunt them. If that is the case, and she holds no such permit/license, and/or the animal is being trapped out of legal season, then she is, in fact, poaching and thus breaking the law. The best thing to do would be to find out what the regulatory status of squirrels is there, and then if you think the law is being violated, inform the state wildlife division. In most states, the state wildlife department is solely responsible for wildlife matters and enforcement of wildlife regulations. Local animal control agencies generally have little to no authority in these matters. Be forewarned though, even if you do contact the state wildlife department, you may not get much of a response from them. Like most law enforcement agencies, they are likely to have much bigger fish to fry, and someone illegally trapping squirrels may not be a priority.
Gee…. what an awful thing to have to deal with – My neighbor went into a killing spree with the Muskokee ducks a while back.
I would find out if these squirrels are being re-located (or killed). Since they are wildlife it seems they'd try to let them out in a state park or national forest….. To let them live. That makes sense to me.
There used to be a Florida Chapter Pro-Squirrel Coalition – but the founder is now in Texas…. However, there is in Tampa – a squirrel rescue: http://www.squirrellady.com/home.php They may be able to help.
But unfortunately Mary….. there are absolutely no laws against harming squirrels that I could find. Which means they are viewed just like any other "pest" and usually meet tragic, unjust ends. So sorry for your woes.
In the future…. when there are more squirrels – Trust me, they will return -after the 3 hurricanes a few years ago our trees were barren….. it's taken time, but they do come back. When they do – maybe by then your neighbor will realize she's more suited in some sterile, manicured, human-cage-like "condo" or "golfing community". She'd be right at home there as they regularly control and "exterminate" all sorts of animals….. Gosh, where's the ALF when you need them –
Good luck.
Commenting strictly on the issue of effectiveness – what your neighbor is doing is just plain dumb. The minute one squirrel is removed from his or her territory another will just move in to take his or her territory. If your neighbor won't listen to the humane argument, try telling her that what she's doing is ineffective – she can trap sqirrels every day for the rest of her life and she'll still have squirrels in her yard.
Wow–nearly the same problem here. My neighbor cannot stand that squirrels come into his yard and eat the food he leaves out for the birds. Even though his feeders have squirrel baffles and the squirrels only get what falls onto the ground. He used to leave a Havahart trap in his yard from spring til fall, right under the bird feeders. We realized that he was leaving the squirrels in the traps for two days or more, sometimes–on the weekend, he'd put them in his car and drive them to a wooded area and release them. From what I understand, he was as good as killing them–probably separating mothers from babies, putting the squirrels into new territories where they had to fight for resources, causing them stress and making them susceptible to illness. He wasn't using the Havahart to be nice, he just didn't want to deal with dead squirrels. We talked to him about it, pointed out that it was ineffective as well as cruel. That did no good. Then, we put a squirrel feeder in our yard, and he was mad when he first saw it, but we told him we were making our yard more squirrel friendly so that they'd come to our yard rather than his. Not sure that's true, but he believes he's been seeing fewer squirrels. When his trap stopped working, he didn't bother to fix it, so things seem ok, for now…
Where I live, there is no law against trapping and relocating squirrels. But, I found out that it's not lawful to keep them in the trap once he finds them, he must release them or relocate then release them immediately. If he starts trapping them again, we'll make use of this…if he finds that he has to drive out to the woods right after a long day at work, and not just leave them for the weekend, that may deter him. I believe Massachusetts prohibits relocating wildlife, because studies have found that it spreads disease…if she cares about other wildlife, maybe you can point out that her actions can have ramifications.
I guess it depends on your neighbor and what kind of relationship you have with her…anyway, I know how horrible it feels to watch this happen and be so helpless. Maybe you can develop some sort of relationship with your neighbor and hope that someday you'll find a way to convince her to stop. It could take a while, but legally, that may be your only hope.
TX837: "Then, we put a squirrel feeder in our yard, and he was mad when he first saw it, but we told him we were making our yard more squirrel friendly so that they'd come to our yard rather than his."
That's very reasonable…. very smart idea!