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Will the city or county animal services help me with a groundhog issue?



Few decades ago, city and county animal services were ready to help with groundhogs and other wildlife animals, because there was no awareness that wildlife animals can (and will) be such a problem. It was not just about their kindness-helping with wildlife animals was part of their responsibilities and tasks.

As it became evident that groundhogs and other wildlife animals are become bigger problem with every passing month, majority of states changed laws and removed wildlife activities from duties of county and city animal services. This means that city and county animal services will no long help with wildlife animals that have come to your property and disturb you or damage your property. Animal services these days help only with domestic animals, i.e. dogs and cats that are your pets. So, if you happen to have a problem with groundhog or other wildlife animal, and you call city or county animal service and ask for help, they will turn you down because this is not part of their legal duties.

Now, handling wildlife animals can be dangerous for amateurs. For example, if there is poisonous snake on your property (and we all know that every American state and almost every county has at least one poisonous snake species native to that area), it wouldn’t be safe for you to try to capture it yourself. In case of some other wildlife animals, beside snakes (armadillos, opossums, raccoons, etc) capturing them could be dangerous both for you and your family and pets. This is the reason why you should always consult professional wildlife rehabilitators and hire them to handle wildlife problem on your property. Professionals know how to approach every wildlife animal individually (taking into account species characteristics), with appropriate trap and remove it from your property in a way that will be safe both for the wildlife animal and for you and your family. This will ensure proper treatment of wildlife animal, protect it for the future and even prevent future problems with wildlife animals on your property.

Go back to the How to Get Rid of Groundhogs page or email us if you have any other questions about Will the city or county animal services help me with a groundhog issue?