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Went to California for a week last year. Came home and found my neighborhood was absolutely infested with prairie dogs everywhere. They even dig holes in the middle of dirt roads which leaves mounds in the road.
Found out what happened today. We have "prairie dog rescue" groups that relocate unwanted prairie dogs from city locations to country locations. Apparently they decided that my location was country enough.
I used to see a rattlesnake every two years. Now I see a rattlesnake every two weeks. The reason is that the prairie dog hole allows the snakes to crawl down and survive bitterly cold winters that were previously unsurvivable for the most part. Plus it gives the snakes more animals to live from. So the rattlesnake population is thriving. Problematic when one walks their dogs every day.
Two dogs have been bitten and I am not happy. The holes also present a broken leg threat to running horses, cattle, and dogs.
This is a great deal like dumping toxic trash in somebodies neighborhood without their permission.
In my opinion, prairie dogs shouldn't be relocated on a private landowner's property without first getting the permission of the land owner. They are native, sure, but they can cause real problems for livestock owners.
Prairie dogs=vermin. It should be illegal to relocate them to someone's private property, even if it's in a rural area.
In New England, it's illegal to catch vermin like skunks and woodchucks in traps and release them on someone else's private property. In NH, we just shoot the woodchucks or let our dogs loose on them. Our brown lab mix is good at catching them and then giving a good shake to break its neck. We then fill in the holes. It's an ongoing process, but we are slowly winning the battle.
Have you tried setting live traps to catch these prairie dogs?
Prairie dogs=vermin. It should be illegal to relocate them to someone's private property, even if it's in a rural area.
In New England, it's illegal to catch vermin like skunks and woodchucks in traps and release them on someone else's private property. In NH, we just shoot the woodchucks or let our dogs loose on them. Our brown lab mix is good at catching them and then giving a good shake to break its neck. We then fill in the holes. It's an ongoing process, but we are slowly winning the battle.
Have you tried setting live traps to catch these prairie dogs?
They aren't a real huge problem on my 5 fenced acres. But they are everywhere when I go for walks. Must not take much for them to live on. This area is dry and pretty low in grazing nutrients.
Funny I rarely see them outside of their holes. They must feed nocturnally. Otherwise I could shoot them.
Went to California for a week last year. Came home and found my neighborhood was absolutely infested with prairie dogs everywhere. They even dig holes in the middle of dirt roads which leaves mounds in the road.
Found out what happened today. We have "prairie dog rescue" groups that relocate unwanted prairie dogs from city locations to country locations. Apparently they decided that my location was country enough.
I used to see a rattlesnake every two years. Now I see a rattlesnake every two weeks. The reason is that the prairie dog hole allows the snakes to crawl down and survive bitterly cold winters that were previously unsurvivable for the most part. Plus it gives the snakes more animals to live from. So the rattlesnake population is thriving. Problematic when one walks their dogs every day.
Two dogs have been bitten and I am not happy. The holes also present a broken leg threat to running horses, cattle, and dogs.
This is a great deal like dumping toxic trash in somebodies neighborhood without their permission.
So before the relocation, prairie dogs were found primarily in the cities?? There weren't any in the country? I mean, how many could they have possibly moved? Isn't it possible that the population has simply grown out of control in the country and the city too? We have this problem except with Canada geese, but no one moved them to our area, they are just growing in numbers, perhaps due to warmer winters and longer summers, IDK.
So before the relocation, prairie dogs were found primarily in the cities?? There weren't any in the country? I mean, how many could they have possibly moved? Isn't it possible that the population has simply grown out of control in the country and the city too? We have this problem except with Canada geese, but no one moved them to our area, they are just growing in numbers, perhaps due to warmer winters and longer summers, IDK.
There were zero prairie dogs for miles and miles. I left for several days and returned to prairie dogs absolutely everywhere...for miles and miles. They are really extraordinary diggers. Had already made their holes and homes.
They were relocated and I would guess that relocators can move very large numbers at a time. I didn't know such groups existed until yesterday. Apparently they feel they are doing the humane thing. I'd like to "save" some cockroaches and termites and rats for their homes.
Prairie dogs=vermin. It should be illegal to relocate them to someone's private property, even if it's in a rural area.
In New England, it's illegal to catch vermin like skunks and woodchucks in traps and release them on someone else's private property. In NH, we just shoot the woodchucks or let our dogs loose on them. Our brown lab mix is good at catching them and then giving a good shake to break its neck. We then fill in the holes. It's an ongoing process, but we are slowly winning the battle.
Have you tried setting live traps to catch these prairie dogs?
Prairie dogs are not "vermin." Neither are skunks and woodchucks. Running around shooting animals is barbaric, sorry.
I’m perplexed why you think this might be a moral issue. Do you think prairie dogs have the right to be pests?
You have all sorts of moral issues here:
- The property rights of the land owner
- The ethical treatment of the prairie dogs
- The possible destruction of the land
As evidenced by the above responses, there are all sorts of possible responses. Some of those might be immoral, including killing the prairie dogs in ways that are quite painful.
The notion of "rights" gets problematic. It leaves us with the question of "where did this right come from?" I think it is much clearer to talk in terms of harm/suffering and pleasure/happiness. I do not know if prairie dogs have the right to be pests. I am not even sure I know how to analyze that question. But I do know we shouldn't cause more harm to prairie dogs than we need to, and some of our interests might be less important than some of their interests.
Next time pest control needs to remove rats, cockroaches, or termites from a rental I will forward an address request for rehoming to the addresses of the out of touch bleeding hearts that have posted for the most part. We wouldn't want to cause unnecessary harm to the creatures.
I'd also like to rehome my newfound infestation of rattlesnakes. PM with your address with verification this is your real address. Oh yea, the vet bills for the dogs and any future snakebite medical bills for me. Those run about $200,000 for the anti-venom. Then you have the helicopter ride and hospital stay. Also...broken legs.
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