From: "Gary Britt" 

Sounds like they need some bait and a shotgun autoloader.

Gary

"Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
news:44eb26f7$1{at}w3.nls.net...
> Dunno - just got a chuckle out of the headline
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060822/ap_on_sc/rampaging_raccoons_1
>
> Psycho killer raccoons terrorize Olympia
>
> OLYMPIA, Washington - A fierce group of raccoons has killed 10 cats,
> attacked a small dog and bitten at least one pet owner who had to get
> rabies shots, residents of Olympia say.
>
> Some have taken to carrying pepper spray to ward off the masked marauders
> and the woman who was bitten now carries an iron pipe when she goes
> outside at night.
>
> "It's a new breed," said Tamara Keeton, who with Kari Hall started a
> raccoon watch after an emotional neighborhood meeting drew 40 people.
> "They're urban raccoons, and they're not afraid."
>
> Tony Benjamins, whose family lost two cats, said he got a big dog - a
> German Shepherd-Rottweiler mix - to keep the raccoons away.
>
> One goal of the patrol is to get residents to stop feeding raccoons and to
> keep pets and pet food indoors.
>
> Lisann Rolle said she began carrying an iron pipe when she goes outside at
> night after being bitten by raccoons when she tried to pull three of them
> off her cat Lucy. She obtained rabies shots afterward as a precaution.
>
> "I was watching her like a hawk, but she snuck out," Rolle
said. "Then I
> heard this hideous sound - a coyote-type high pitch ... It was vicious.
> They were focused on ripping her apart."
>
> The attacks have been especially shocking because raccoons came within
> five feet (1 1/2 meters) of cats without any problem in previous years,
> Benjamins said.
>
> "We used to love the raccoons. They'd have their babies this time of year,
> and they were so cute. Even though we lived in the city, it was neat to
> have wildlife around," he said, "but this year, things
changed. They went
> nuts."
>
> In one case five raccoons tried to carry off a small dog, which managed to
> survive.
>
> The attacks, all within a three-block area near the Garfield Nature Trail
> in Olympia, are highly unusual, said Sean O. Carrell, a problem wildlife
> coordinator with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, adding that
> trappers may be summoned from the U.S.
> Department of Agriculture to remove problem animals.
>
> "I've never heard a report of 10 cats being killed. It's something were
> going to have to monitor," Carrell said.
>
> Meanwhile, residents have hired Tom Brown, a nuisance wildlife control
> operator from Rochester, Washington, to set traps, but in six weeks he has
> caught only one raccoon. He and Carrell said raccoons teach their young -
> and each other - to avoid traps.
>
> Brown said he had seen packs of raccoons this big but none so into
> killing.
>
> "They are in command up there," he said.
>

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5