Sep 27, 2000
"Educate - Not Relocate" .... by Dee Walmsley
When people relocate they experience stress adjusting to their new location, jobs, schools, and neighbours but eventually they ‘fit in’ and go on with their lives.
When animals are relocated it is often a death sentence and a slow death at that. First off they do not relocate themselves therefore they must be trapped, tranquillized and transported. Trapping wildlife in a small steel enclosure or worst yet with a snare or leg-hold trap traumatizes the animal to the extent that they sometimes chew off their own appendages to escape or pull their nails out on the traps wire mesh in their attempts to escape. They will chew on the metal for hours often breaking their teeth to regain their freedom. So by the time they are picked up their stress level is very high.
The next step is to tranquillize the creature. This is done by chasing the animal into a squeeze cage where it is forced to become immobile and is jabbed with a needle or in the case of a snare shot with a dart gun. More stress.
The animal is then transported to an area miles away from its territory and released. We now have an animal without a food source or den site and in another critter’s territory. Add fear and stress. The relocated animal will have to fight off the residents as it moves about seeking a territory of its own. It also must find food and urban wildlife does not eat the same food as their county cousins. They have been raised on human garbage, pet food and the occasional pet. Therefore if they survive the constant harassing and fighting from their peers, they too must battle starvation. Add to all this weather conditions and the relocated animal’s chance of survival is very low.
If the animal being relocated happens to have a disease like distemper that was undetected during its captivity then it will spread the sickness throughout the release area infecting a healthy population.
Education is the only solution to our urban wildlife problems. We can learn to co-exist. The rules are simple,
- Don’t feed.
- Don’t interact.
- Make your yard unattractive to wild critters, practice prevention, screen off areas and make repairs at possible entry points to your house and sheds.
- Be responsible parents and pet owners.
- Teach your children what to do when encountering wildlife just the same as you teach them about human predators.
For more information contact your local SPCA, Ministry of Environment, Stanley Park Ecology Society or wildlife shelter,or contact Dee Walmsley - Nature Writer at (604) 536 0605. email Dee Walmsley.