A group of more than one hundred raccoons searching for food took over a woman’s property in Poulsbo a town in Kitsap County, also known as Little Norway, in Washington State. Poulsbo residents reported that it is common to see these mammals in the area but they had not seen so many all together before.
The woman admitted that for decades she has been feeding these animals, which routinely visit her home at all hours of the day, scratching at the windows to attract her attention. But they had never been so numerous. Now, the situation has definitely escalated to the point of becoming unmanageable enough to lead her to request the help of animal services. Meanwhile, neighbors are also wondering how they can resolve the situation, how they can safely relocate the raccoons, but most importantly, how to prevent the invasion from happening again.
“I’ve certainly never seen anything like this. None of the deputies have ever seen anything like this. This was new to everybody,” Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Kevin McCarty stated,, who referred the woman to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to fix the problem. Their intervention, however, would cost the woman as much as $500 per animal.
Under Washington state law, all animals routinely captured by a wildlife control operator must be released back into their original habitat or killed and disposed of properly. It is not yet clear when the raccoons will be removed and if and where they will be released.
