The Lambton County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are being inundated with calls for service, after people are spotting raccoons out during the day.
OPP officials say homeowners who have issues with racoons, skunks, bats or any other animal on their property need to call a private animal removal service.
“The OPP does not have the equipment to trap and house live animals or transport live animals,” said Ryan Olmstead, staff sergeant for the Lambton County OPP, in a media release.
“Calling the police to deal with a nuisance animal ties up the phone lines at the communication centre and ties up law enforcement officers when they could be focusing on other issues in the community. A private animal removal service should be contacted instead of calling the police.”
OPP officials say it’s a common myth that a raccoon walking during the day is sick or has rabies.
It’s true that raccoons are mostly nocturnal, but they can be active during the day for many different reasons, police say.
As the colder weather approaches, it will be more common on a nice warm day to observe a raccoon out searching for food, preparing for the winter, police officials added.
