Did you know it's illegal to keep raccoons at home in Canada?
10 reasons why you shouldn't get a raccoon as a pet.
The Canadian Algonquin Indians called raccoons arukan, which means "he who scratches with his hand. The English name raccoon is also derived from this word, raccoon. It happened so because the first time the English saw these cute little animals was in North America, when they encountered the Indian tribes and began to understand their language. From there the raccoons got to Europe, where they successfully took root.
Raccoons in Canada
Countless raccoons live across southern and much of central Canada today. These animals are considered wild here, but quickly become tame, even when people don't think about taming them. Long time ago these fuzzy animals learned to move from forests to human habitation, where they easily get food for themselves due to their cleverness. But not everybody likes such neighbourhood, as raccoons not only adore their unusual appearance, but often cause harm: they ravage litter bins, crap and even break into houses and steal food. They can also carry infections. In Canada, however, it is against the law to kill these animals, which can get you into serious trouble with the police.
If you have recently settled in Canada or are just planning your move to this country, then you definitely need to know that not only are raccoons not allowed to be killed here, but also kept as pets. And here's why:
1. In Canada, raccoons are on the list of exotic animals that are prohibited by law from being kept in homes.
2. it's inhumane: raccoons are wild animals. By Canadian standards, it is completely unethical to capture wild and healthy animals to force them to live the rest of their lives in captivity. These animals should be in their natural habitat.
3. raccoons are very fond of biting: if they live among humans, they can easily bite any human or pet. When raccoons reach puberty at the age of 6 months, they can suddenly become very aggressive and start attacking for no reason.
4. Raccoons can carry parasites and infectious diseases (including rabies) and therefore pose a threat to humans and pets. Raccoon droppings may contain ascarid worm larvae, which are also contagious to humans and pets.
5. Raccoons easily spread infection on their paws because they have a habit of rubbing any food before eating it. With their messy five-toed paws, raccoons can easily open doors, jars, and latches and touch and pick up anything they are interested in. If a raccoon finds even a small hole in your fence, it will immediately make it very large and cause you considerable damage!
6. Raccoons are almost impossible to train: getting them to use the litter box like a cat or dog will be a long and difficult task.
7. There are no temporary holding facilities for raccoons in Canada, so you will have nowhere to put your pet raccoon if you decide to go on vacation.
8. They are quite large animals (can reach 60 cm in length and weigh up to 9 kg) and run very fast.
9. Not many vets deal with raccoons, so treating them is difficult and expensive.
10. If your pet raccoon runs away from home, it is likely to frighten your neighbours and their pets. Also, if a tame raccoon does escape into the wild, it will not have the necessary survival skills there and will die quickly.
If you encounter a raccoon problem, call Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control at 1-888-592-0387, valid for Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton, St. Catharines, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Cambridge and the Niagara region.
