It’s not a good idea to feed wild raccoons, but there are a lot of people who will do it anyway. If you absolutely insist on feeding a wild raccoon, please follow these guidelines:
-Do not allow the raccoon to see you leaving food. If the raccoon starts begging humans for food, someone will believe it is rabid or a pest, and it will end up being euthanized.
-Leave food scattered through your property, not in a bowl on your porch or steps. Feeding a raccoon on your porch or steps could lead to it trying to break into your home. These critters are smart and nimble, and can do a lot of damage when they decide they want to come inside.
-Do not feed the raccoon daily. This will cause it do become dependent and it will lose its ability to naturally forage.
-Don’t feed raccoons if you have free-roaming cats or dogs on your property. This will spread serious diseases between the animals and could lead to fights and injuries.
-Provide only cat food, dog food, fresh fruit, and eggs. Do not feed junk food, dairy products, or processed grains to a raccoon.
-If a raccoon figures out that you’re a food source and starts approaching you, ignore it and stop feeding it. Allowing the raccoon to become tame isn’t fair to the animal and could lead to human injury and illness.
-If you live in an area where bears are known to live, do not feed raccoons under any circumstances, or their much larger cousins will start coming to your home to eat. This is is very serious because bears who approach humans for food will kill or be killed, and the blame is squarely on those who feed them.
We all want to help our local wildlife, but please be smart and careful about it if you decide to feed your local trash pandas.
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