North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Dr. Lucky Pittman" <lpittman@murraystate.edu>]

Virtually ALL wildlife biologists recommend against 'relocating' nuisance
animals, particularly if they are not an 'endangered' species -
squirrels/raccons/deer are most definitely NOT in that category.

Unfortunately for the animal, relocation has a number of bad side effects.

1. Relocated animals must find new food sources in an unfamiliar
environment.  

2. Relocated animals must find new shelter in an unfamiliar environment. In
the winter time, relocated wildlife have precious little time to find
shelter.

3. Relocated animals must do actions 1 and 2 above while avoiding predators.
It must also do those tasks before weather, food and water conditions take
their toll.  
Additionally, relocated animals will now be competing with the previously
existing populations at the site of 'relocation' for food/shelter/mates. 

4. Your relocation may result in the deaths of young through starvation that
have now lost their mother from your relocating her away from her young.

5. Relocating animals raises the risk of relocating a disease like rabies to
new andRed fox with severe case of mange. Photo by Aaron Hildreth.
uninfected locales. Like what happened with the Mid-Atlantic Rabies Outbreak
during the 1990s. Mange, and other parasites are also a concern.

6. It may also be illegal in your state.

While trapping and relocating may make some folks feel as though they've
treated their former nuisance in a 'humane' manner, it's not necessarily the
case.

Lucky