Morality of Drowning Skunks

[Sailboat]

Catholig,
Uh, I’ve probably killed close to 100 skunks in the past 13 years. I know that I killed more than 25 in at least 2 or 3 of those years. I think your suggestion is not practical

 

[Sailboat]

Catholig,
Uh, I’ve probably killed close to 100 skunks in the past 13 years. I know that I killed more than 25 in at least 2 or 3 of those years. I think your suggestion is not practical

IN other words, that’s 25 skunks a year, for 2 or three years. When I was shooting them I killed probably 10 a year, before I got a trap. We’re talking a serious infestation here.

The last previous 2 years I only killed 2 a year, plus the ones at the Church. This year, none, but I plan to set the trap a few times before they hibernate as a preventative for next spring.

 

[Catholic_Mike]

I think the solution here is obvious. Blow-darts full of heroin.

 

[Catholig]

25 a year which is…1 skunk every 14.6 days (according to my trusty calculator). More than I thought it would be when putting in the numbers, but still all you’d need to do is ask animal control for one of their cage traps, leave it out, call animal control when you catch one, and it’d probably be gone by the time you get back from work. Then it’d be someone else’s problem.

Catholig

 

[Sailboat]

25 a year which is…1 skunk every 14.6 days (according to my trusty calculator). More than I thought it would be when putting in the numbers, but still all you’d need to do is ask animal control for one of their cage traps, leave it out, call animal control when you catch one, and it’d probably be gone by the time you get back from work. Then it’d be someone else’s problem.

Catholig

That’s more frequently because where I live there is snow on the ground from December to March, and the skunks hibernate from late Oct to March. They briefly wake up in Feb to mate, which you smell if they are under your house.

I kept track those years, it was ridiculous.

 

[Sailboat]

They kept breaking in the chicken coop, so I would just set the trap in there and, bam, I’d catch those little devils like clockwork. It was a real drag.

Maybe the hippy neighbor lady got smart, 'cause there are definately less of them. She’s in her 50’s and still smokes pot. Her husband is even older and has a greenhouse that he heats with wood and grows pot. I think pot makes people more sympathetic to skunks.

 

[gogogirl]

Sailboat - I don’t know what to tell you. It’s not my property, or my problem, and I don’t even know what I’d do in your situation, but drowning a skunk doesn’t sound awful nice (to mention it the methodical way of shooting a skunk in the head didn’t sound too good either). Maybe you could get an animal center to deal with some of them, or remove their scent glands, and sell them as pets?

As for the morality of killing them, God wouldn’t have created skunks unless he had a purpose for them, and even though you probably won’t go to hell for drowning them would it not be nicer to treat them with respect when you can? Again maybe animal control can do something. Or at least humanely euthanise them.

Catholig

It’s been my experience that animal control doesn’t have the time to mess with stuff like this. They are too busy dealing with dogs, cats, and live stock to mess with the likes of a skunk. The most they will do in my neck of the woods is loan you a trap to take care of them yourself.

I know from experience that these creatures are not very nice and will reek havoc on anything and everything. Possums, coons, and skunks will tear up and kill anything they can get their hands on. When they get in your house and start getting in your pantries, I declare it to be open season.

I am certain that God has a purpose for skunks but he also gave humans dominion over the animals, not the other way around.

 

[Sailboat]

Racoons are even worse. They aren’t as prevalent here, but when they found their way into the chicken coop, they slaughtered the chickens as they innocently roosted at night. At least skunks can’t climb. I had to put a wire roof over the chicken run. I shot around 4 'coons, that was before my drowning days. But, they gave up on my place after I fixed the run. We had to get all new chickens and start over.

 

[Catholig]

It’s been my experience that animal control doesn’t have the time to mess with stuff like this. They are too busy dealing with dogs, cats, and live stock to mess with the likes of a skunk. The most they will do in my neck of the woods is loan you a trap to take care of them yourself.

I know from experience that these creatures are not very nice and will reek havoc on anything and everything. Possums, coons, and skunks will tear up and kill anything they can get their hands on. When they get in your house and start getting in your pantries, I declare it to be open season.

I am certain that God has a purpose for skunks but he also gave humans dominion over the animals, not the other way around.

Well I think I’d get a bit upset if they broke into my house too, but I couldn’t see me killing something unless it was going to kill me (snakes for example).

I definitely wouldn’t want them mating under my house, but if I couldn’t catch them I’d probably go out and buy something that would hunt them so that they have a fighting chance, but have a reduced population…

Catholig

 

[Catholig]

Racoons are even worse. They aren’t as prevalent here, but when they found their way into the chicken coop, they slaughtered the chickens as they innocently roosted at night. At least skunks can’t climb. I had to put a wire roof over the chicken run. I shot around 4 'coons, that was before my drowning days. But, they gave up on my place after I fixed the run. We had to get all new chickens and start over.

Well if the creatures are killing your chickens, then you could probably kill them, but might something that hunts the racoons, and skunks (Not your chickens though) be better?

Catholig

 

[Ella]

One thing you could try is to put the cage in a plastic bag (or a cooler, or box, that is reasonably air tight) and then put some dry ice in bowls of water in the enclosure. Dry Ice is frozen C02 and the water would make it turn to gaseous form.
The C02 would put the animal to sleep humanely.
You can get dry ice at most big chain grocery stores for about a $1 a lb. or so.

 

[St.Eric]

OK, I started posting at a different forum. It’s a very conservative one, from what I can see. It has a huge section devoted to gun and rifle collecting, so it’s definately not a namby pamby site. I don’t personally own a gun and am probably less conservative than a lot of guys at that site.

I mentioned that I have drowned alot of skunks on my property. They were a major problem for me, and I’ve probably killed more than 75 of them over the past 12 years. I inherited a terrible problem because of two factors. Ist of all, the house next door had been a rental, before part of it burned and we bought it. Secondly, there is a hippy lady down the alley that thinks lots of skunks fights off rabid animals, and she feeds them.

A few times, when we left our doors open on a hot summer evening, skunks marched right into our house. They wiped out about 10 young chickens that weren’t roosting yet. They are vicious, indiscriminant killers, and killed them all in one night, not even eating most of them. They got under the house and stunk up the house. The list of their crimes goes on and on.

I started out by shooting them on sight, then went to trapping them in a live animal trap and shooting them. Then my 22 rifle broke and I borrowed a handgun from a friend, but then my neighbor complained and actually shooting a gun is illegal within city limits, although it was the lady at city office that suggested a 22, since skunks are such a nuisance here. So, I bought a special skunk trap that is enclosed so you can pick it up and transport them to a water tub, and I started drowning them.

Now, you ask, why don’t you take them to the woods. Well, there’s a reason why you don’t see skunks in the woods. It’s because there isn’t much food there for them to reproduce at the rate that a town will provide. So, they’ll either move back to town, or if you take them out far enough, most likely they will starve. They also find many nice places to hibernate in town, under old sheds, etc.

Well, on this site, some people got outraged, even though there are alot of hunters there and supporters of the NRA. They have a reputation system and I got negative reputation big time, although it was outweighed by positive. Still, I was really shocked at the reaction. I like the site still, but I didn’t know that a bunch of conservative gunlovers would take offence to drowning skunks.

What do you all think?

First of all, I thought you didn’t own a firearm, yet you state you shot skunks with a .22. That doesn’t add up. Anyway, no, I am not opposed to what you are doing. I do the same thing with CATS in my neighborhood. I personally don’t like cats, but, if they stay off my property, I will tolerate them. BUT, I have a HUGE problem when cats jump over my 6 to 8 foot privacy fence into my yard, and take a poop everywhere, INCLUDING my children’s play area. This is a serious health threat to my children. And I am sorry but human children come before smelly cats. So, I trap them, send them off to the forest, where the coyetes, wolfs, and cougars will dine on them. Cat lovers, pay attentions! If you live in the city… make your cats the “inside type!!!”

 

[Rolltide]

Is there a local nature preserve, humane society, or animal control office that you could call to get advice on humane and acceptable methods?

Btw, descented skunks are becoming increasingly popular as exotic pets because if they are raised from birth they are relatively smart and can be litter trained. (Not that that helps you any, I just thought it interesting. lol)

 

[Sailboat]

One thing you could try is to put the cage in a plastic bag (or a cooler, or box, that is reasonably air tight) and then put some dry ice in bowls of water in the enclosure. Dry Ice is frozen C02 and the water would make it turn to gaseous form.
The C02 would put the animal to sleep humanely.
You can get dry ice at most big chain grocery stores for about a $1 a lb. or so.

HMMMM that’s a very interesting method. Maybe I’ll try it.

 

[Steven_Merten]

Hello Sailboat,

I wonder how many people who might oppose drowning skunks own domestic cats? I read an article one time and it was unbelieveable. I cannot remember exactly but domestic cats had caused the extinction of thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of species of animals. Domestic cats, many owned by enviormental consiencious owners, wiped out the whole speicies into extinction of many species. I do not see how drowning a few skunks could compete with owning a cat.

Watch out though. Here in liberalsville, Seattle Washington, the nightly news had a request for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of a man seen drowning cats in a local lake. Maybe the poor guy was just trying his best to protect many species of animals from extinction. Anyway, don’t drown your skunks in a lake in Seattle.

 

[St.Eric]

I need to address this. Sorry if it is off topic a bit. BUT, to all of you pet owners, dos, cats, rats, ferrets, and everything included. Why do yo uneed filthy animals in your homes? I can smell it the instant I walk into a home that harbors animals. No matter how clean you keep your home, if you have a dog or a cat or anything else, your home smells like an animal is the primary occupant. Why not have more human children. We need them especially in the industrialized world. 70 industrialized countries have experienced negative population growth in the last 10+ years.

 

[Sailboat]

St Eric,
That’s pretty extreme, killing people’s cats, don’t you think? The people at that other site would really be upset.I would never kill someones pet

I had a .22 rifle at one time, then it broke, I mention that already. I no longer own a gun.

 

[gogogirl]

Well I think I’d get a bit upset if they broke into my house too, but I couldn’t see me killing something unless it was going to kill me (snakes for example).

I definitely wouldn’t want them mating under my house, but if I couldn’t catch them I’d probably go out and buy something that would hunt them so that they have a fighting chance, but have a reduced population…

Catholig

In all seriousness, what type of creature would hunt them and still be safe to have around your house. Animals are not that discriminating. Anything that would go after the skunks would probably go after the chickens too.

 

[St.Eric]

Watch out though. Here in liberalsville, Seattle Washington, the nightly news had a request for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of a man seen drowning cats in a local lake. Maybe the poor guy was just trying his best to protect many species of animals from extinction. Anyway, don’t drown your skunks in a lake in Seattle.

OH NO!!! THEY ARE ON TO ME!!!

 

[Sailboat]

Steve, I have a horse tub I got at the feed store that I use as my execution chamber. Then I bury the skunks under a tree.