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Killing skunks

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From: Brian C. City: Hillside, IL
Why does IL and other states have the policy that wild skunks need to be euthanized if they are trapped? Have they really been proven to have a higher chance of being diseased here in Illinois and other states? Just curious on why other wildlife can be relocated and skunks have to be killed? Thanks. Also is drowning them illegal?
	Extension Message From: Laura Kammin Visiting Extension Specialist, Pollution Prevention Extension-Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program lkammin@illinois.edu
Skunks must be euthanized because they can be carriers of rabies. It is legal to drown them.
From: Brian C City: Hillside, IL
Interesting. Thanks for the reply. I read that wild skunks have less of a chance of having rabies than feral cats, and people i think, would freak out if we started drowning cats. I hope the agency re visits this policy with some newer scientific studies to show how bad rabies really is among skunks.
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