Wildlife rescue, animal control company, say they're dealing with more skunks in Windsor this year
A local wildlife rescue and a animal control company both say they're seeing more skunks in their work — even as the City of Windsor says calls to animal services about the animals have declined this year.
Wings Rehabilitation Centre typically sees around 10 to 20 adult skunks and 20 or 30 babies each year, said wildlife supervisor Lynn Moor.
This year, they've seen around 30 adults and more than 50 babies.
"I find we've had an increase in adults coming in that are injured or sick with stuff like rat traps on them or Tim Hortons cups," Moor said.
"We don't normally get this many babies this late in the year, and we've had at least six in the last two weeks."
More possums, rabbits, and owls too
Moor attributes the increase to several factors related to the warm weather, including more litters and more people outdoors discovering sick, injured or abandoned animals.
The rescue is also seeing more rabbits, possums and owls this year, she said.
Ted Foreman of Bob's Animal Removal is also getting more calls about possums, he said, and skunk calls are way up since the spring.
"I think we only caught three litters all spring," he said.
"Right now, it's probably two [calls] every day."
Ted Foreman of Bob's Animal Removal said he's also seen an increase in calls about possums. (Mike Evans/CBC)
Those numbers contrast with the number of calls about skunks to City of Windsor animal services, which sit at 16 so far this year, compared with 33 during the same period last year, according to spokesperson Jason Moore.
Most of the skunks Foreman catches ended up being euthanized because provincial law prohibits people from relocating animals more than a kilometre from where they were trapped – a measure aimed at preventing the spread of disease, Foreman explained.
But animals released less than a kilometre from where they were trapped simply become harder to catch the next time, he said.
Many of the adult skunks that end up at Wings also end up being euthanized, Moor said, either because they are sick with distemper or because they have been caught in rat traps and suffered injuries that the rescue can't treat.
People typically bring in baby skunks because the mother has been killed, and those animals get rehabilitated and released, she added.
Moor advised people to put rat traps in sheds if possible or other places where skunks can't reach them.
She also urged people to throw their disposable coffee cups in the garbage instead of on the ground, where animals can become trapped.
People who want to keep skunks out of their yards should keep their yards clean and free of food, she said. But while they get a bad reputation, she says skunks do have their benefits.
"Skunks have feelings too like any other animal," she added.
"Skunks are good for [people's] gardens. They dig up a lot of grubs."
