Around here we get lots of wild life which is kind of sad, I live on about a 1/2 acre of property in the middle of the suburbs and I have a herd of deer (10-12) that wander up the draw between all the houses and just hang out in the bamboo patch on the back part of the property (I HATE bamboo), we have a family of raccoons that live in a tree about 1000yds down the same ravine, but they've never messed with the houses so they get to stay. We've had opossums and skunks and most other typical animals. Even saw a coyote a few months ago. To me this is really weird because I grew up in the mtn's of NC and rarely had encounters with any wildlife that I wasn't looking for, but since we are in their habitat in the city I see them daily. I even have a 200+lb 13pt buck that shows up from time to time which is a pretty big boy for living in the suburbs lol.
I see both sides of the coin thats getting flipped in this thread. I won't shoot anything that's not going to be eaten but at the same time I will eliminate a nuisance. We have a billion grey squirrells in my back yard. That's cool let 'em run it's entertaining to watch them and all but as soon as they decide to show up in my roof and start chewing holes in my facisa board and are in the house and make me worry they'll get into the wiring and cause a fire they are eliminated. Woods=fine and dandy, on/in my house=dead. Also if that big coyote I saw shows up again he will be eliminated as well. Not because I have a problem with him but because he is more than big enough to snag and run off with one of the smaller pets that I and my neighbors have and prolly tear up my black lab if he wanted to. Not to mention he could easily take down one of the little tykes I have for neighbors (2-3years old). As far as the stray cat/ stray dog thing goes. I have, 2 dogs, a cat, 2 turtles, and a snake and they will never be a nuisance because I let them stay inside and care for them. People who toss out animals they don't want anymore are trash and I'd love to do that to them and see how they think it feels. Don't get it if you don't want to actually care for it..... Don't want little animals running around? Spay or neuter and problem solved. Unfortunately (especially here) there are so many stray cats and dogs that the vets, pounds, and animal clinics will literally tell you they will be put down, not go up for adoption.
A perfect example is not to long ago I found a beagle that was about 7 months old. He was nothing but skin and bones and looked absolutly pitiful. He had a collar on but had somehow gotten his leg through it and it had been that way so long that it had cut him down to the bone. Thats the only reason I could catch him, he couldn't get away, he had a sibling with him but I couldn't catch it. Matter of fact it hurts a little every time I think about not getting both. I would frankly love to find the person who tossed those two dogs out because they didn't want them and beat the hell out of them. Took the beagle to the vet after we cut the collar off and cleaned him up (HE STUNK!) to see if they could maybe find a home. They thought he was cute to but said frankly he would be put to sleep in a week. So I kept him, nursed him back to health, spent about $100 on all shots and medicine for the cut (the vet totally helped out on the cost, it was super cool of them) and after I made him a chubby, healty fella I found him a good loving home.
Point being I can't afford to do that for every animal I find and the vet won't either. So that animal becomes a nuisance. On the wild animal side if it is effecting your domesticated animals or you, your property or your family, and on the stray side if it's living a horrible, unfed, uncared for life, and potentially turning itself into the wild animal side and effecting you, your property, or your family I say eliminate it. Truly you are doing the strays a favor. A well placed .22 (if you can't place one shot for one kill you better not shoot at anything living) is just as effective and humane as having to burden an already overtaxed vet's office/ pound with taking in the animal and eliminating it themselves.
Flame away if you must but I promise I am an animal lover, mine will tell you that, but at the same time there are breaking points that are reached.
Oh and I love bats, they eat mosquitos!
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