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The woman reported having had to flee her property after 50 to
100 raccoons descended upon it and were acting aggressively,
said Kevin McCarty, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. She
told deputies she started feeding a family of raccoons decades
ago and it was fine until about six weeks earlier, when the
number showing up went from a handful to around 100.
“She said those raccoons were becoming increasingly more
aggressive, demanding food, that they would hound her day and
night — scratching at the outside of her home, at the door. If
she pulled up her car, they would surround the car, scratch at
the car, surround her if she went from her front door to her car
or went outside at all,” McCarty said. “They saw this as a food
source now, so they kept coming back to it and they kept
expecting food.”
It was not clear what caused their numbers to balloon suddenly.
Both the sheriff's office and the Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife determined no laws were broken, McCarty said.
“This is a nuisance problem kind of of her own making that she
has to deal with,” he said. Video from the sheriff’s office
shows raccoons milling around trees, and deputies who responded
to the call observed 50 to 100 of them, he added.
Bridget Mire, a spokesperson with the Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife, said by email that under state law it is
illegal to feed large carnivores, such as bears or cougars.
While municipalities or counties may have local statutes
forbidding the feeding of other wildlife, it is currently not
against state law to do so, she said.
Regardless, the agency discourages people from feeding wildlife.
Raccoons, for example, can carry diseases, and food can also
attract predators such as coyotes and bears, according to Mire.
Mire said an agency wildlife conflict specialist has met with
the woman, who has stopped feeding the critters.
“The raccoons appear to have started dispersing now that they
are no longer being fed, and we are glad for a positive outcome
to this case,” Mire wrote.
Poulsbo is about a 90-minute car and ferry ride northwest of
Seattle.
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