N.S. animal rehab centre dealing with influx of raccoons

Hope for Wildlife in Nova Scotia says there has been an uptick in calls about raccoons stuck in green bins.

Hope Swinimer, who runs Hope for Wildlife in Nova Scotia, says her rehabilitation is nearly overrun with raccoons.

“There’s not a day goes by this time of year that we don’t get a call where there are one or two raccoons trapped in green bins,” Swinimer says.

She calls the increase in compost bin racoons is significant but avoidable. A good elastic cord is one way to keep critters out of the bin; another is to stand it away from a wall or a tree that the animal can use to climb up and pry open the lid.

“As soon as they see that there’s an animal trapped in there, if it looks bright eyed, and you’ve checked the bin the day before, you can lay your green bin on its side and leave the door open. Go away for a half an hour and come back and check,” Swinimer says.

Raccoons would need help often end up at Hope for Wildlife.

“Sometimes it’s just a matter of giving them some hydration to get them back on their feet,” Swinimer says. “Other times you have to give them a complete bath along with the hydration because they are a mess from being in the bin.”

“Typically we find animals that are still alive and we just tipped the bin over and let them scurry and get on their way,” says Michael Teraud, owner of Bin Buddy’s. “Keeping the green bin clean is a distraction to those animals being attracted to the green bin.”

Sometimes animals in green bins aren’t found in time and their bodies must be removed.

The Halifax Regional Municipality says dead animals are not part of the green bin collection, or any other municipal curbside pickup. Residents can contact a pest control or wildlife removal service for safe disposal at their own cost.

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