By Bay City News
The Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA announced a $1,000 reward today for information about a raccoon that was found shot in South San Francisco last weekend.
The raccoon was found near the 700 block of Palm Avenue on Sunday morning, animal center officials said.
The animal looked dazed and was resting its head on a curb. Center officials brought the animal to the Wildlife Rescue Center at 1450 Rollins Road in Burlingame.
At the center, the raccoon -- determined to be an adult female with healthy skin and fur -- was conscious but unresponsive to stimuli and would fall after briefly standing.
Once sedated, staff found injuries to the raccoon's forehead and a fragment of bone.
The raccoon was then euthanized.
The staff concluded there was a possibly the raccoon had been shot and after X-rays found that there was a lead pellet in its brain and one in its rear hips.
A possible second bullet was found in its head.
The society officials said this marks the 12th wildlife animal shot in the region since last December, which includes another raccoon hit in Palo Alto, a peregrine falcon near San Francisco International Airport and two crows from Redwood City.
Anyone with information about the raccoon shooting is asked to call the PHS/SPCA at (650) 340-7022, ext. 384.
Copyright © 2012 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Tell us in the comments: If the shooter is found, what would be a fair punishment?
@rushro I respect your opinion. However, it is not necessary to wish harm upon another individual who verbalizes an opinion that doesn't fully sync with your own.
All the best to all the posters.
@wolfone Yes, some men are pests. (I'm half joking here.) In any event, the person who shot the raccoon could be mentally unstable and target people. But it might be a few years before that happens.
That's rich - you've obviously never called animal control about a raccoon "causing a nuisance." After they get up off the floor and stop laughing they'll tell you 'there's nothing we can do about it unless it's injured.' Here on the Coastside, we're over-run with the little beggars. I had one take up residence in my attic - she tore hell out of the place. Animal control was useless. I had to hire a private exterminator to remove her. You can't trap them - again, animal control will have nothing to do with taking them off your hands or relocating them. I'm not advocating shooting them, not because it doesn't work, but rather because doing so is a hazard to surrounding homes and neighbors. You can't poison them without risking pets or other desirable wildlife. There are just too few really good options. And "Animal Control" ain't one of them!
And Nancy b., they aren't "innocent animals." They're vermin. The sooner people start seeing them for what they are - 15 pound rats - the sooner we'll get public health agencies involved in abating them. Have you ever seen what they'll do to a domestic cat? It's not a pretty sight to find your family pet dead on your front lawn with her entrails hanging out.
All the best to the posters on this seemingly silly topic, but isn't when you're up to your eyeballs in 'coons.