Following a string of raccoon sightings in town, including three where sick animals had to be put down, New Canaan’s Animal Control officers are urging residents to keep their garbage bins secure and ensure that domestic pets are supervised when off-leash and outdoors.
Just seeing a raccoon during the day doesn’t mean the animal is sick with rabies or distemper, as the species at this time of year has very young babies and often wanders out in daylight to forage for food so that the young aren’t left alone at night when other predators are about, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section.
“We’re not concerned as long as they’re moving with a sense of direction,” Halm said of the numerous calls the department gets when residents spot raccoons during the day. “It’s when they are obviously stumbling, staggering or circling that we known the animal is clearly sick.”
In three recent incidents—May 8 on Kimberly Place, May 7 on Bickford Lane and May 4 on Rippowam Road—police shot dead the sick raccoons then found following residents’ calls, Halm said.
A fourth incident, called in at 3:26 p.m. on May 6, involved a raccoon fighting with a dog under a resident’s deck on Old Stamford Road, she said. The animals didn’t make contact in this case, she said, and the raccoon left without incident.
“The raccoons are out,” Halm said.
Police do not assume that raccoons who appear unwell always have rabies, Halm said, as distemper can show similar symptoms.
However, residents should be aware that tools such as invisible fences, while they’re designed to keep domestic dogs on a property, do not keep out the wildlife.
People should be with their animals and not let them alone outdoors for hours.
“It’s no different from a toddler, as far as I’m concerned,” Halm said. “An unsupervised dog can get into trouble.”
Officials with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection advise residents to never feed or touch raccoons, secure garbage, feed pets indoors, eliminate potential denning areas (close off openings under porches and buildings), eliminate access points (for example, trellises or downspouts that lead to roofs on private homes) and install fencing.