UPDATE MAY 17, 2011: THE TRAPPING FOR THIS WEEK HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

A number of Beach Drive neighbors are interested in dealing with an over-population of raccoons encouraged by intentional and unintentional feeding by some neighbors.  There is a flyer that is being distributed to neighbors that states "if you feed them, you are responsible for their death".   

The flyer states that raccoons "are now getting into homes, destroying our yards and our food gardens, getting into our garbage cans, KILLING our pet cats…even worse, raccoons are spreading disease, including viruses, bacteria, rabies and parasites like roundworms…"   The group is investigating having the raccoons trapped and killed until the population is reduced to "one that nature can support" before it becomes an even larger issue. Apparently trapping and relocating raccoons is not an option per Washington State law.

Here is a link to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's page on Raccoons which includes important tips on what you can do to deter them in order to prevent conflicts.   And from the UW Medicine:  Raccoons: A Public Health Risk.

More information to follow as we learn more.

UPDATE:  PLEASE KEEP YOUR PETS INDOORS SO THAT THEY ARE NOT ACCIDENTALLY TRAPPED.  

NOTE:  Beach Drive Blog is not organizing the raccoon trapping – simply reporting info as we learn about it.

It's very considerate of the neighbors to have given BDB a "heads up" about this so we are all more aware of this issue and know to keep our pets in.  None of the neighbors who are in this position want to be.