The inhumanity of it all: Facts on animal cruelty

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It’s very important even when taking care of nuisance wildlife problems that animals are treated with dignity.  Sadly, this isn’t the case in many places all around the world.  Even in the United States, animals are either neglected or abused.  From dogfighting to poor zoo maintenance, people have consistently shown that they need further education on how to co-exist with animals.

Below are some of the hard facts on animal abuse that have to stop right now.

·         Millions of chickens used for food are injected with drugs that allow them to grow bigger than natural chickens.  The result is that their vital organs deteriorate at a much faster rate, and their legs break because of their weight.

·         Around 115 million animals that go through chemical, food, cosmetic, and drug testing yearly don’t make it out of the laboratories alive.

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·         There are some high-profile farms supplying beef in the U.S. that were caught slicing of the hooves of livestock.  These farms continue to operate after paying relatively small fines.

·         One of the main reasons why it’s illegal to buy and keep exotic pets in the U.S. is because their mortality rate is extremely high.  But even after knowing this, thousands of people still buy and keep exotic pets.

·         Several zoos and theme parks across the country are not up to the standards of state and national law.  The result is that animals in them end up malnourished and diseased.

Baystate Wildlife Management, Inc. was founded in 2000. It specializes in trapping, removal, and exclusion of all nuisance wildlife in a humane and safe manner. To know more about Baystate Wildlife, visit its official website.

Watch Out: How Squirrels Keep Getting Into Houses

They can be cute, photogenic, and a fascinating subject of films and creative works. But it’s safe to say that squirrels are an unwelcome intruder in homes, where they either find holes in the house or chew their way through soft spots in the roof, vents, and chimneys to gain entry.

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While they are small, squirrels can be the source of major home damage. Like other types of rodent, they chew on everything and create a dangerous situation that can lead to house fires. Here are ways that they typically enter houses.

Roof vents and edge

Plastic and aluminum vents are installed on many roofs to allow for proper ventilation of the attic. Squirrels, unfortunately, are able to detect the warm air that escapes the attic, knowing there’s a cozy area somewhere there to nest when they chew past the vent cover. Then there’s the edge where all the rain as well as melted snow on the roof end up eventually. When shingles and roof boards here deteriorate due to prolonged wetness, squirrels get the chance to create openings.

Chimneys

Squirrels also enter through uncapped chimneys, although the success of their invasion could still depend on the materials used for lining the chimney. Brick-lined chimneys, for instance, provide an easy entry path and enable squirrels to nest on top of the fireplace.

Wall vents

Picture this: the exhaust for kitchens as well as dryer fans and bathrooms are usually located on exterior walls, and the plastic covers installed over the top of the openings couldn’t do much to prevent squirrel entry. The vent pipe looks like a tree cavity, offering a nest for these creatures apart from being a breeding ground for unsanitary conditions.

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Baystate Wildlife provides services for bat, skunk, squirrel, and raccoon removal. Its catchers safely bring captured wild animals back to their natural environment where they are meant to build their homes. Read more on this site.

Keeping Critters Out Of Your Home In a Humane Manner

The operative word is “humane.” A lot of people treat critters as invaders and nuisance, their presence in the home as infestations. We should step back a bit and reconsider how we handle the presence of any wild animal in our properties: both for our and their protection.

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If, for example, you’ve found a snake in your house, the best way to handle the situation is not to go for the kill, but to contact wildlife removal experts who can extract the animal without hurting it. At the same time, the typical homeowner who isn’t familiar with snake types might just end up getting bitten by a venomous species.

Many of the wildlife that enter our house are just driven by the need to look for dens, lured by convenient openings that provide safe, ideal conditions in rearing their young during harsh weather. Or the smell of good food. Often, the main reason our homes get such visitors is our own neglect.

The best way to prevent any contact with wild animals is to prevent their entry in the first place. We should patch up any holes that allow them to get inside, after ensuring that they’ve gone. Leftover food should be stored in the fridge or thrown away quickly. We could tend to the garden and backyard more regularly, as well as invest more time in home upkeep.

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An ounce of prevention is always best. Especially nowadays, as humans consciously reject perceptions of themselves as rulers of the planet, and embrace their symbiotic relationship with nature and all its inhabitants.

Baystate Wildlife provides services for bat, skunk, squirrel, and raccoon removal. Its catchers safely bring captured wild animals back to their natural environment, where they are meant to build their homes. Know more about the company and its services on this website.

Recognizing a Skunk’s Presence In Your Home

Skunks are wildlife that are considered pests in urban areas. These (mostly) striped offenders are known for their obnoxious odor. Aside from the smell they emit, these wildlife can also be carriers of canine distemper, hepatitis, rabies, and other diseases. The first step to eliminate their presence in the home is to know the signs of their existence in the area.

                                Image source: animals.mom.me

Foul odor Skunks are easy to identify because of their foul smell. Even without them spraying, one can know the location of a skunk because of the odor in the area. The odor emitted is most evident during winter or their mating season.

Holes in the lawn Holes three to four inches wide can be a sign of skunk presence. Unlike animals such as raccoons or dogs, skunk holes are perfectly circular and shallow. They may also dig cone-shaped holes that allow them access to different structures. Trails leading to their hideout may also have cat-like footprints.

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Barking dogs at night When dogs bark at night, it may be a sign of skunks in the neighborhood. Skunks are known to be nocturnal animals, which means they hunt during night time.

Rolled-back sod Skunks will avoid digging sod and they are attracted to loose sod.

Skunks in the area? Baystate Wildlife offers wildlife trapping, removal, and exclusion throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Southern New Hampshire, and Southern Maine. To learn more about their services, visit this page.

Why Getting Rid Of Raccoons Needs a Professional Touch

Raccoons are feisty little creatures that can be as aggressive as they are cute. But there’s nothing cute about a raccoon living in your attic rent-free. Here are some reasons you need a professional to get rid of raccoons in your home.

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First, raccoons can be aggressive, especially if they are protecting their pups. People know what they can do to garbage bins at night. Children at home and expensive items can be at risk with these critters on the loose. Handling them yourself can get you scratched and bitten in the process.

Removing the animal yourself can also get you infected with rabies. This alone makes it a very bad idea. Rabies is a pain to deal with, and if not treated quickly, can easily turn into a fatal condition.

Raccoon repellants rarely work the way they are advertised. These animals are smart creatures who will simply avoid these repellants thanks to their keen sense of smell. Products like coyote and fox urine, as well as ammonia balls, simply do not work.

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You can also do the animals harm by undertaking removal yourself. Without experience on how these creatures can react, a homeowner could possibly kill these creatures and their pups. Professionals deal with this problem in a humane way through trapping methods, and return them to the wild. They will also help proof your home to prevent human-raccoon encounters in the future.

Baystate Wildlife removes raccoons, skunks, bats, and squirrels in a gentle manner, as the last thing the catchers would want to do is hurt them. The company follows an extensive process which locates both present and future entry points. They seal these to prevent wild animals from re-entering. Learn more about the company’s services here.

Reasons Wild Animals Are Not To Be Kept As Pets

To begin with, they’re not called “wild” for nothing. Think about it this way: whenever we bring wild animals to our homes, we are denying them their natural instincts. This is especially true for adults who’ve spent their lives away from humans.

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As for babies or juveniles, keeping them as pets and then deciding later to set them free is very stressful, forcing many rescuers to even opt to euthanize them instead of returning them to the wilderness, since they’ve lost their ability to live without human guidance. 

Of course, we have dogs and cats as typical pets, and these animals have more or less evolved to coexist with human companionship. But other animals like raccoons or foxes cannot adjust to living in our households; we are just sentencing them to a life of loneliness and stress, a life away from their skulks and kind. 

More importantly, we may not be allowed to keep them in the first place, as often it’s illegal to keep wild animals in our homes. This is because some of them are destructive or dangerous to keep or try to tame. A scratch mark or a bite from, say, a squirrel or a snake can lead to serious illnesses and can even be fatal. On a lighter note, just think about the headaches caused by, say, a pet fox ripping your carpets and chewing up your sofas. 

Finally, consider that these animals may not even need rescuing in the first place. Often mothers leave their young ones alone for hours as they hunt or look for food. Don’t just grab the “abandoned.” Think hard if what you’d initially thought as rescue was more of a form of kidnap.

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Baystate Wildlife specializes in the humane and safe trapping, removal, and exclusion of wildlife, including bats, racoons, and squirrels. Visit this website for more on the company.