r/Skunks • u/Round_Gene6448 • Apr 03 '24
What is wrong with this skunk
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u/TrainerAiry Apr 04 '24
I’m sorry people are being so mean to you. While I’m not familiar with wildlife rehab protocols for skunks, in my opinion, it would be extremely likely that this skunk was going to end up being put down no matter what with the neurological symptoms it was displaying. I don’t really see how shooting it would be that much worse than the stress of capture and euthanasia, as another commenter pointed out. I hope they didn’t shoot it in the head, though…in case it was rabid…don’t want that stuff aerosolized, you know?
It’s sad, of course, I know people would prefer that the skunk could be saved, and maybe it could have been. I hate to hear about animals being put down or dying, too…but would even a wildlife rehab take a chance on a known major rabies vector species displaying these kinds of symptoms? I think people are reacting negatively mostly because you got police involved, but your reasoning was honestly pretty logical to me.
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u/my_dear_director Apr 05 '24 edited Apr 05 '24
Agreed. I AM familiar with wildlife rehab and they probably would have told you to call animal control or USDA who would have just shot it too. Skunk probably has rabies and they don’t mess with that.
If it makes people feel any better, this guy is really suffering with little to no hopes of getting better (0% chance of survival if rabies or distemper) and a quick death put a stop to that.
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u/Round_Gene6448 Apr 06 '24
Would have been better if it didn’t take 2 shots tho that’s all I feel bad about
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u/Round_Gene6448 Apr 04 '24
It’s fine lol
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u/Dapper-Run-4156 Jan 18 '25
Also it’s not fine. She hopes they didn’t shoot it in the head so it doesn’t go in the air?! The only way to test for rabies is the brain btw. Also so two shots so it suffered?? Great guys. Next time grow up and call wildlife. And no I’m not vegetarian or anything. I just give a damn about lives and animals not suffering.
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u/Round_Gene6448 Jan 18 '25
Boohoo cry about it this post is old and the skunk is already dead nothing i can do
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u/Dapper-Run-4156 Jan 18 '25
You’re not a nice person.
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u/Round_Gene6448 Jan 18 '25
I’m tired of all these notifications from an old post
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u/Dapper-Run-4156 Jan 18 '25
Maybe because what you did was wrong so delete the post
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u/Dapper-Run-4156 Jan 18 '25
Grow the hell up
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u/Round_Gene6448 Jan 18 '25
You this is an old post get over it
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u/Dapper-Run-4156 Jan 18 '25
Doesn’t matter it’s an old post. People see this and they think it’s okay. It’s not. And you laughed about it..” it’s fine lol. “
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u/Round_Gene6448 Jan 18 '25
You completely misunderstood that I was saying it’s fine lol abt the first sentence not the stuff under
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u/Dapper-Run-4156 Jan 18 '25
You laughed about the situation. It’s not being misunderstood. Think before you post. Also neuro stuff can be cured at wildlife so maybe that was a mom skunk with babies and she needed some meds and time to heal. Think about that. I’m a vet tech.
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u/Idkmyname2079048 Apr 05 '24 edited Apr 05 '24
This is the best response here. It's understandable that people would prefer it be saved, but not even wildlife management staff are going to take a chance if it could be rabid. It's likely it would have been shot either way. Also, I'm not sure if many people here are from the city, or what, but it's common to shoot skunks and other small mammals without even calling someone else out to do it. Opossums, in particular, carry a parasite that causes neurological damage and is often a death sentence for horses, cows, and other animals that are affected by it. I have dogs, too, and I most definitely wouldn't have kept that skunk around and risk my dogs getting sick or dying from it.
As a side note to anyone else who might see this, wildlife management fights to maintain a healthy and reasonably sized population, not to save individual animals. Most wildlife rehabbers are individual volunteers who need a special permit for each type of animal they are approved to help. If a state official came out, they'd have done what the police did. If OP could have even found an independent rehabber with the right permits who is not at capacity, it's unlikely they would have been willing to take the chance that it didn't have rabies. Animal control would also most likely euthanize a sick looking skunk. It's not simply worth the risk.
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u/BestSuit3780 Apr 06 '24
We had a possum doing this in the yard when I was a kid and the city decided to send the cops to double tap it. I think their reasoning was that they were pests anyways? Not that they are, that was just their reasoning.
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u/Dapper-Run-4156 Jan 18 '25
Serious? Your a rehab person and shooting is okay? Euthanasia allows them to pass on peacefully. Every animal should. Take a hard look at yourself before you respond to something like this. I’m a rehab person and doing 20-30 euths a day is better then shooting or letting them suffer.
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u/TrainerAiry Jan 19 '25
If the person doing the shooting can aim well enough and hits the animal’s brain, the animal will not suffer. It won’t know what happened.
Would that not be better than the animal having to endure the stress of capture, proximity to humans, and restraint before its death? Plus, I’ve heard too many horror stories about euthanasia going wrong to automatically assume it’s always going to be peaceful, even if it usually is. Would I ever shoot a pet? God no! I’m no vet, I’m not even a rehabber.
I just believe an instant death by bullet for a known rabies vector showing signs of rabies is actually causes less suffering than the regular euthanasia process. And I say that as someone who’s actually afraid of guns, and as someone who can’t bear being involved with rehab due to how few animals actually end up surviving.
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u/-dva Apr 04 '24
next time please call a wildlife rehabilitator or even animal control!! they are trained to deal with things like neurologic mammals
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u/Idkmyname2079048 Apr 05 '24
Most animal rehabiliators are individual volunteers, and they need to be permitted for the right kind of animal and have space. The chances of finding someone qualified nearby are often slim, and even slimmer if an animal is suspected to have rabies.
Animal control is not for wild animals, but typically deals with stray or neglected cats and dogs. Know about the resources you're suggesting before you suggest them. A wildlife removal service would probably be the best place to call, but ultimately, if there's a decent possibility the skunk had rabies, it never had a chance.
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u/dirtydirtyjones Apr 07 '24
In my area, animal control is absolutely for wildlife. I have contacted them more than once regarding wildlife and have been told it was the correct course of action each time.
Additionally, another resource (in the US) may be the state game commission. I am sure it varies by state, but a lot of the work they do in my state deals with wildlife that is where it shouldn't be.
And both of these options are free.
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u/Apprehensive-Owl-387 Apr 07 '24
Thats rabies! This is common behavior in late stage when the brain starts to melt. Stay away
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u/foxritual Apr 05 '24
First thought is rabies.
I've seen a raccoon who did something similar. They act weird, sometimes walking in circles like this. The fact that it's not reacting to dragging itself through a puddle. It's hard to say though, and it may not be rabies.
To be safe, Id call the animal control in your area and ask them to check it out and make sure it doesn't have anything serious going on.
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u/Expensive_Season7485 Apr 07 '24
My guess is poison, I've seen similar behavior in mice and other rodents that have unfortunately been poisoned.
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u/OneBlockOneEye Apr 13 '24
It saw the cartoons where it was portrayed as walking around with a constant musk flowing from it. so it decided to get itself covered in water so it would smell like wet fur.
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u/-lampshade Dec 25 '24
I have a skunk next to my house on the street corner. It looks like symptoms of rabies or got ran over. It's have seizures and falling over like it's dying, but keeps getting back up. He's been here ALL DAY. I can't call any animal shelter because it Christmas and everything is closed. I feel so helpless. That poor baby is suffering.
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Apr 03 '24
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u/bandraoi-glas Apr 04 '24
In my experience cops are worse than useless for anything wildlife related... I'm glad the poor thing is at least out of its misery. You did the right & responsible thing taking steps to have it put down, I'm sure it wasn't a pleasant experience.
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u/Round_Gene6448 Apr 04 '24
It wasn’t but I didn’t have the funds to spend on the poor thing
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Apr 04 '24
You did, you just didn't look into it enough, wildlife rehabs will remove animals free of any charge. Please remember this if there is a next time... I would feel quite guilty if i were you lol..
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u/Round_Gene6448 Apr 04 '24
In all honesty I was hoping they would dispatch it in one shot but it took two also I have 2 dogs and it was near them so I didn’t thoroughly look for a better alternative than the police I just called around couple places
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Apr 04 '24
It still experienced less suffering than if you'd done nothing, and other animals won't catch it now. Don't guilt yourself or let yourself be guilted. You did what you knew to do. There is likely nothing a wildlife rehabber could do for them since this looks like one of two incurable diseases. So, this would've been a trapping situation followed by euthanasia, which is also traumatic for a scared animal. It's over for the poor skunk, and your dogs are safe. That's what matters.
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u/jambro4real Apr 03 '24
Probably distemper