An American woman from Kitsap County, Washington, has been feeding animals for decades. However, recently a whole "army" of raccoons visited her yard, which began to cause her serious problems.
Journalists write that the reason for this was the excessive kindness of a woman who had been feeding these animals for 35 years and never had any problems. However, six weeks ago, the situation changed.
"Somehow word got out in raccoon country and they all came to her house waiting for food," Kitsap County Sheriff's spokesman Kevin McCarthy said, adding that when they received a 911 call from a distressed woman who said the raccoons had blocked her in the car in her yard.
Arriving at the scene, the police were shocked when they saw a huge group of raccoons, which, however, behaved quite quietly. The frightened woman told the police that she had never seen so many animals in her life, and several of them were quite aggressive. Officers advised her to contact the Department of Wildlife to resolve the situation.
Then, as the journalists write, the owner of the settlement was asked to contact private hunters who are engaged in catching wild animals. After the appeal, they said that they were ready to do it and demanded 500 dollars for each caught animal, which in general can cost a woman tens of thousands of dollars.
At the same time, neighbors confirmed that raccoons had been hanging around the unfortunate woman's house for over a month. One of them stated that his dog had fought several times with furry brats, and he had seen the bodies of several animals on the main road that leads to the human settlement. Another neighbor of the unfortunate woman, Wendy Cronk, said that several uninvited guests were also in her yard. She hopes that the neighbors will already help to solve this problem.
The media indicate that the local Department of Wildlife Protection notes that the main reason for such actions of raccoons was their feeding. Since the animals received a constant source of food, they began to flock to this place more and more actively, until their numbers became critical.
A representative of the local Department, Bridget Maier, says that due to the large concentration of animals, it also contributes to the spread of diseases carried by raccoons. In addition, due to such an influx of animals to feeding places, they lose their vigilance, which will also mean the possible appearance of predators near the mass presence of animals.
Mayer is convinced that the best way to counteract the "insolence" of animals will be to install a fence in gardens and orchards, as well as to clean the territories from leftover food from uninvited guests. McCarthy, the spokesperson for the local sheriff's department, agrees with her opinion, saying that "it's very simple - don't feed the wild animals."