A young raccoon lost his life last week after he got his paw caught in a rat trap in North Burnaby.
Staff with AAA Wildlife Control found the animal in a garbage bin at the north end of Willingdon Avenue and brought him to the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C. in Burnaby on Feb. 15.
“They had been tracking him down over for over a week – over eight days they said – and he was caught in a trap that they had not set and that they don’t advise, and they were able to eventually able to catch him,” said Janelle VanderBeek, rescue coordinator at the wildlife centre.
The raccoon’s front right paw was caught in a plastic Tomcat rat trap. Once sedated, staff at the association removed the trap and discovered that four of the five front toes were damaged beyond repair, VanderBeek said.
“There was just no recovering those fingers, and with raccoons, they need at least their pinky and thumb to be able to climb. Bone was exposed; it was all very nasty and very infected,” she said.
The infection had spread to his bones and there was severe muscle damage to the area, so staff made the decision to euthanize the animal.
VanderBeek said his death could have been prevented had the rat trap not been left out in the open. Similar to a wooden snap trap, the Tomcat traps, when left outside, can catch more than just the intended rats or mice, she added.
“We never suggest people use those traps out in the open and that’s exactly what happened with this one,” she said, adding they available to purchase at most hardware stores.
If someone were to use them outside, VanderBeek recommends they be put in a rodent-safe box, which are available from pest control companies like AAA Wildlife Control. If they’re not, any animal is at risk.
“Quite often we’ll see them on raccoons and skunks and squirrels, all kinds of animals that are non-target animals for the traps, unfortunately. We get birds in them a couple times as well, especially when they’re baited with peanut butter,” she said.
VanderBeek suggests only using these types of traps indoors or contacting pest control companies if dealing with nuisance rodents. Other ways to keep mice and rats out of homes is to keep the area around the building clean and rely on wildlife to cull any unwanted rodents.
“We would suggest relying on wildlife, your natural wildlife. We’ve got bobcats and owls and that kind of thing up there (North Burnaby) to control your population for you,” she said.
For more information, visit http://wildliferescue.ca.
