How many of you....

Know of your local city having contracts for urban wildlife where the city will remove wildlife for free from
private property, no questions asked?

This is related to the other thread and also of personal interest to me. With so many private companies it
surprises me to read how many cities are providing free service other than sick or injured acting wildlife.

PM me if you like otherwise interested to hear from across the country....

I cover southeast side of Chicago and Northwest Indiana and every municipality is different. In most of them the city animal control or police department will remove an animal that has gotten in a residence. They draw the line when it comes to getting on ladders or go in crawlspaces or attics though.

One city has a police officer doing wildlife full time but when he gets busy he gives out my number.

Some municipalities loan traps to people. One lady I did a job for had 9 feral cats. The town lent her a squirrel trap. She didn't catch any herself. Imagine that.

Some rather large towns here don't even have an animal control.

It's a mix here. Some will loan traps and some will do the trapping but most do not.

Thanks bjansma, that is the kind of info was wondering about, definitely focusing on wildlife versus the feral cats or dogs though I understand some depts do them all.

Also mostly wondering if you have a skunk or raccoon or squirrel on your property, does your city pay someone to come trap it for you for free?

I can understand wildlife inside the residence which might be more an emergency if in the living space, versus under or above the home in attic or crawlspace.

The small towns around me only pay for skunks. Everything else is on the property owner.

HD the area i cover has a animal control officer that
Will trap animals for free that are in yards or in houses.
Like was said earlier once the animal is in an attic or they have
To use anything besides a trap they call a pest or wildlife company.

Thanks Jim and Kasey, good info!

Most ACO's will do a quick grab on a raccoon or squirrel, and leave a trap in some towns. But if it's not an easy job they have them call us. Having taught the state class for NWCO's we do get ACO's there for further education. They all say they have enough work to do with out getting into this end of it.

In Central Ohio it is rare for a municipality to use tax dollars to remove wildlife from private property.

The more urban areas of Southwest Ohio and Northeast Ohio have a greater incidence of municipalities performing that type of service.

Got one town over here that rents out the traps (which your not allowed to do by state law) ..And also does it for free at times...got a call for a woodchuck removal and upon arrival , I located a town trap with a skeleton inside...pretty nice huh ?

A related note, knowing many of you are in rabies zones, do you see many cities are doing this related to disease concerns (human health and safety) or because of odor issues with skunks and simple taxpayer complaints....

With so many nuisance wildlife companies in the midwest and eastern states I'm surprised that this isn't raising the hackles of folks who don't want the govt. doing what they do for cheap, or in this case for free???

Didn't even think of that tie in till this discussion, while I know folks have their issues with WS and it comes up on here plenty, how about the city animal control who are doing skunks, raccoons and others for free on the taxpayers dime???

Looks like something that was overlooked in terms of an everyday loss of work for many who do trap/removal on a daily basis?

Thanks for everyones responses, hope to see more.

Justin

Justin, the politics of it run like this. The counties really don't want to spend on animal control, the cat ladies like to volunteer and work for peanuts and the DNR don't like rocking boats.
And when we complain it makes us look like (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman).

I like that explanation David!

In NC, towns/cities Animal Control only does cats and dogs. NO WILDLIFE.

AND, you may have to wait 2 wks to 2 months until a cage trap is freed up and available for them to come set it.

Dad had such a problem with cats, he bought his own cage and just called them and they brought a transfer cage.

Man, the neighbors didn't like paying the $25 to get their cats back, 2nd time was $50, 3rd was $75 and 4th was $100...after that they usually said "Just keep it and get it adopted." Which rarely happens in this county, so it got put down after 2 weeks.

For beavers, IF that county has pitched in some $$$, then BMAP money kicks in, and a landowner is only charged $25/trip for the APHIS trapper to come....and I can't usually compete with that,,BUT when no BMAP money is available, I have a good chance to outbid the APHIS trapper.

Heck, our APHIS trapper sends me work at times, since he is so busy with DOT work.

None here

HD,

Your question is a good one!

WS used to do the work for free in Reno and Las Vegas. Of course this was outside the scope and intent of the outdated depression era legislation they operate under and law suites were threatened by one of the nations more prominent pest control companies, so ws stopped. Now ws just works for and lightly charges billionaire gold mining companies, millionaire welfare ranchers, and the department of wildlife in NV... the folks that need near free services.

Regarding the fact that some municipalities may choose to do this work for free falls under quite a bit different legality. Perhaps in those municipalities it is legal. However, like plumbing, farming, or selling cars, I still think wildlife removal services should be a job for the private sector. But to also answer your question, I know several cities in California have wildlife control people, not sure on the cost though.

As a private sector professional yourself, what do you intend to do with this information? Do you think the economies of the cities benefit from having private WCO's providing the service? What about the tax base and permit fees the city could gain and use to maintain things like roads? Or perhaps we would all benefit more from a socialistic government with free services of all kinds, ours included?

In addition to the commercial permit, Illinois has a "municipality permit" under the nuisance wildlife program. They are tested just like us, and have to follow the same regs. Just can't "charge" for the service. However, there are TONS of small to large cities that are doing wildlife removal for residents (in city limits) in different ways WITHOUT the required permits. Some loan traps (illegal), others set traps and have owners check them (again, illegally) and some even set and check traps, totally ignoring or unaware of the law (like most of the public also in our state).

My regional wildlife biologist is a real stickler on the nuisance wildlife laws. When he finds out a city is trapping wildlife without a permit or they are loaning traps for anything other than cats and dogs, he calls them out on it immediately. The system is designed so IDNR has control over the disposition and/or conservation of the species covered, and he gets highly irritated when the small-town police and city boards operate as though they are not required to obey the law.

Most of the counties around me have been "straightened out" by him over the past 10 years, and especially the local ACO's are aware they can NOT deal with wildlife unless they pass the test to obtain the permit. Even the ones that do get the permit sort of "bend" the rules, as I've seen situations where cities with the municipal permit leave traps set over the weekend, not performing the state-required daily trap checks. I've also witnessed a local city release raccoons (illegal in Illinois) at their local city lake, 2 miles from where captured.

I don't care what they do or how stupid they are for thinking they'll get by with this forever, as too many of their employees can't keep their mouth shut and the coffee shop stories always get back to the county CPO's. A couple don't even care (selective law enforcement) while others can't wait to hammer someone. When I get into a conversation with someone who calls from a city police or clerks office about problem critters I always work the details of the laws into the discussion one way or another. Most are shocked that they are breaking the law, while some just thumb their nose and continue to break the law.

I know neighboring states do not have similar laws, and it can be a free-for-all at times. I'm just amazed that so many of these cities in Illinois have health departments that are freaking out about a skunk or bat that tests positive for rabies, while their "country cops" are illegally releasing skunks a mile from town. Go figure.

Great post Ron! Many of the things you said I've heard of elsewhere in the country and completely true! Too many people don't abide by state wildlife laws and even those we'd expect would do not.

Thanks for that very informative post, Ron. Makes me wonder what I did right to be born in Wisconsin? I don't think that we have

anyone to enforce the DNR laws in most of the counties we work in. No big deal, we don't have any real laws to enforce anyway. We

have the proper licensing and that's the most important part of ADC work; making sure that everyone pays their due. We had a warden

that sounds like the twin of your guy. He and I met on several occasions. I wish I could have recorded some of the conversations.

I do remember one of the last ones. After following me into a swamp ( Wearing boots instead of waders and wet up to his crotch ) he

said, "Oh dang it, it's you again. Paul, the next time you switch vehicles, leave your name in the rear view window!" I've always

loved our cops but it was only since about the last 25 years or so, that I have really begun to respect the DNR enforcers.

Wow, now that the legality of our work has been mentioned, let's take an example from private and public services. I have and maintain 7 business licenses just in NV and under those licenses I maintain several permits. This means I report tax info quarterly to the state, twice a year to two counties, and take continuing education units to maintain a statewide license, not to mention restricted use pesticide record keeping requirements. If I do work in different municipalities or counties, I need to provide much info and often need another business license. Of course I also maintain insurance.

The only public service provider in nv that I know of is WS. They have insurance and are " exempt" from most of the laws I am required to follow, and they don't follow the laws they are "required" to. They have a behind doors report to the state and avoid open meetings while entering into service agreements with counties. They all take in house tests to all get the same answers for the pesticide licenses as the supervisor gives them the answers. No taxes are paid. Few license fees are paid. No business licenses are bought. And they tell the state department of wildlife to speak to their lawyers when they violate state game laws....