Relocating a wild animal from your Texas property may seem like a good idea, but this is often far from the case. While it’s a temporary fix that removes a raccoon or squirrel from your premises, it’s detrimental to animals and risky for homeowners, and doesn’t address the underlying cause of the wildlife issue. Professional removal and exclusion services keep new pests from moving in and provide a long-term solution

Continue reading to learn why you should avoid relocating wild animals and why it’s important to call a trusted Texas wildlife removal company to handle the situation safely.

Understanding Wildlife Relocation vs. Translocation

Relocation means moving a wild animal within its familiar territory, such as catching a squirrel from the attic and releasing it into your backyard. Meanwhile, translocation involves transporting an animal far from its home range, often a long distance away to unfamiliar territory. Technically, if you capture a squirrel in your house and drive a few miles to release it in a park, it’s translocation.

While both methods aim to move wildlife from properties, the distance makes a critical difference in how animals respond to their new environment.

Why Translocating Animals Can Be Problematic

Despite good intentions, there are significant issues with translocating animals that can reduce their chances of survival. Consider the following points:

• Stress and trauma: The capture and translocation process can be physically and emotionally overwhelming. Some animals experience a serious condition called capture myopathy, where intense stress damages their muscles. This leads to weakness, poor muscle coordination, or even death, making survival difficult in a new environment.
• Social disruption: Translocated animals often face hostility from other animals of their species that already live in the area. With no established territory or alliances, they may be chased off or attacked, further reducing their chances of survival.
• Lack of habitat familiarity: Animals can become confused when they’re placed in distant and unfamiliar grounds without knowledge of where to find food, water, or shelter. This confusion puts them at greater risk of starvation, predation, or accidents like getting hit by cars.
• Risky animal handling: Unless you’re an experienced wildlife removal expert, it’s dangerous to capture and translocate a wild animal on your own. This exposes you to the risk of injury when the animal struggles, and possibly even rabies.
• Temporary fix: Translocating an animal doesn’t eliminate the original problem. It only opens up space for another wild animal to occupy areas such as an attic or a crawl space. If the conditions that attracted the wildlife are not addressed, such as food sources and cracks that become entry points, another pest will simply take that animal’s place.

The Legal Implications of Translocating Wild Animals

Translocating wild animals in Texas and most states cannot be done freely. The risks to public health and wildlife make state regulations strict. Here’s what you need to know about Texas legal codes:

1. Transporting Various Animals Is Illegal

In Texas, laws govern the transportation of species known to carry rabies, such as skunks, raccoons, foxes, and coyotes. According to the Texas Rabies Control and Eradication Administrative Code, it’s illegal to transport these animals, and only specific individuals are authorized to do this.

Examples of authorized people include rehabilitators permitted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and pest management professionals licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA).

2. Approval Requirements for Translocation

State law requires you to obtain approval from the TPWD and the landowner where the release will occur to move the mentioned animals. For example, if you intend to translocate an opossum into a park, you need consent from the owner of that park. If you wish to translocate an animal deemed a rabies vector (i.e., skunks, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, etc.), they must first be quarantined for a 4-week period to verify that they are not showing signs and symptoms of rabies.

Even with approval, monthly reports are mandatory if you will be translocating animals regularly every month.

3. Law to Euthanize an Animal Deemed Rabid or a Rabies Vector

If a high-risk, free-roaming animal potentially exposes someone to rabies, it must be euthanized for testing. This includes wildlife such as bats, foxes, skunks, coyotes, and raccoons. Local rabies control authorities can also require quarantine or testing if there’s any suspicion of infection. If any animal deemed to be a rabies vector is not quarantined with the intention of legally translocating, it must also be euthanized on site and may not be transported live.

4. Statewide Rabies Quarantine for Certain Animals

Live species of raccoons, skunks, foxes, and coyotes are subject to strict quarantine laws. Only licensed professionals may move these animals. Quarantined animals can only be moved within a 10-mile radius in the same county near their original capture site.

Some of these qualified professionals include zoo employees accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, animal control officers, pest management professionals licensed by the TDA, educators (Permits required), and wildlife rehabilitators with permits from TPWD.

Do Relocated Animals Survive?

When wild animals are translocated to distant and unfamiliar environments, their chances of survival are often low. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), particularly through its Wildlife Services program, generally discourages translocation as a solution to nuisance wildlife problems.

The USDA’s Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series references many studies spanning decades showing that numerous translocated animals do not survive. Here are two notable examples from their research:

• Gray squirrel: In a study of 38 male adult gray squirrels, 37 died or disappeared within 88 days of translocation. That’s a 97% mortality rate.
• American beaver: Researchers translocated beavers to grow a new population. The survival rate was 43% at 360 days post-release, with beavers less than 2 years old experiencing 100% mortality.

 

Translocation’s Impact on Ecosystems

Experts generally discourage wildlife translocation due to the risk of spreading diseases. Moving animals also move their parasites, viruses, fleas, and bacteria, potentially introducing diseases to previously unexposed wildlife populations. Even short-distance translocations can introduce diseases to vulnerable animal groups or expose translocated animals to new diseases.

For example, a 2023 study showed that translocated raccoons spread the raccoon roundworm parasite to uninfected populations. Other examples of diseases spread through translocation include rabies, plague, and chronic wasting disease.

Moreover, translocation of animals in the release site can introduce competition for resources like food, water, and space, potentially displacing native species or changing their behavior.

Effective Alternatives to Wild Animal Translocation

Consider the benefits of a professional wildlife removal company and avoid DIY animal relocation from your home. Here’s how the following services can resolve intrusive animal issues:

• Wildlife trapping and removal: This service methodically removes animals from a residential property. Skilled wildlife experts conduct thorough inspections to locate animals and their entry points. These professionals provide a customized game plan to accommodate your needs, ensuring efficient and safe trapping and removal. An experienced team can also provide cleanup and sanitation, and report any damage caused by the animals.
• Wildlife exclusion: By combining trapping/removal with exclusion and preventive measures, wildlife removal professionals provide a comprehensive, long-term solution to ward off future infestations. It’s an effective alternative that focuses on preventing animals from entering a home, ensuring new infestations won’t recur. By implementing exclusion tactics and repairs, the property becomes less attractive and accessible to wildlife, providing long-term protection without disrupting the ecosystem through translocation.

Call Trained Professionals From Urban Jungle Wildlife Removal LLC

For effective wildlife solutions, trust professionals who understand animal behavior and Texas regulations. Urban Jungle Wildlife provides expert animal trapping and removal services by trained wildlife biologists. We also offer wildlife exclusion and repairs, and cleanup services for your residential property.

Avoid the risks of DIY animal relocation and let our highly qualified team handle the situation with proper long-term solutions. We create customized plans to address wild animals in homes, including squirrels, raccoons, rats, bats, and opossums.

Call us at 833-732-0439 or send us a message online today to schedule professional wildlife removal and exclusion services.