After the Webinar: Mesopredators – Solving Problems with Our Smallest Urban Predators. Q&A with John Griffin

Webinar presenter John Griffin answered a number of your questions after his presentation, What Are Mesopredators? Taking a Deeper Look at Solving Problems with Our Smallest Urban Predators. Here are just a few of his responses.

Audience Question: So, the first question, what’s a charismatic species?

John Griffin: Well, it’s a great question. It’s a human perspective, designation. An animal that people appreciate because they see something, it’s charisma, you know. The big charismatic species like bison and cougars and bears, and things like that. What we’ve run into and what was a really important aspect of our work on, on outreaching, educating the public about conflicts is that a lot of these animals get, you know, a negative name or you get associated with it and negative framing, a word that has a negative connotation. And that actually in itself can decide that the way those animals are treated. So, what we try to put out there and this is really about the sort of the human perspective, the individuals’ perspective. It should be on that person, like, if you don’t want the animal around, and maybe a better term would be unwanted, instead of nuisance or pest, or some other thing that carries with it a sort of the negative connotation. It’s a great question.

Audience Question: All those tables that you showed during your PowerPoint presentation, you know, where, like, almost like an at a glance table. Is that downloadable somewhere on the Humane Society website?

John Griffin: If you can e-mail me, I’m glad to send you an Excel, or Word copy of it. Happy to do that.

Audience Question: How do we handle red fox and sarcoptic mange?

John Griffin: Sarcoptic mange, right. Well, that’s good. That can be challenging, and they do need to be treated. If it’s possible, and that is something that is best done under the care of a wildlife rehabber. If there’s a way or it’s possible in the state to do it in situ where they can treat as recommended by a wildlife rehabilitation specialist or professional, to provide something like ivermectin over a dose in a safe manner, then that’s something that we would recommend. Or, you know, potentially taking that animal into care, depending on how immunocompromised or how compromised in general, all that fox might seem.

Audience Question: Utilization of glue traps has become an issue in our jurisdiction for native wildlife like birds and snakes and opossums. Do you know of any localities that have effectively banned the use of glue traps in their jurisdiction, or what should we do?

John Griffin: Yeah, great question. I’d love to talk to Jennifer more about that and please reach out and I’ll try to give you some resources. That is one of the most inhumane types of traps out there because the animal dies from stress and dehydration. It takes a long time and a very inhumane way. I’m not aware of using them for wildlife, they’re supposed to be used for rodents, if any animals at all, there are jurisdictions that have banned their use or limited their use in some way. Glad to do a little more research at the files and see to get that information to you.