How can I obtain a permit for my baby raccoon? I got her from a friend who has the parents but also no permit. Please help if you can thanks. (your welcome to email me on this matter)
Have a good day.
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You don't say what state you are from. Laws vary from state to state. If you happen to be in Virginia, it is against the law to be in possession of any wildlife. I understand it isn't easy to get a permit in Virgina. If you tell them you have the raccoon they will probably give you a ticket, and investigate where you got it from and give your friend a ticket, which carries a $140.00 fine.
I know it's the last thing you WANT to hear, but trying to keep wild animals is not a smart move. Read the lastest Breakthrough and see what Jan Van Hoesen has to endure with her managerie. A raccoon is an ill tempered animal to begin with after it matures and cannot be innoculated against many diseases that can effect YOUR health.
Having said all that, if you want to be on the up-and-up, call your DNR and ask the questions. If they are allowed, you'll be given instructions on what to do. If not, you'd be wise to follow their directives.
Please help me get a tank to put it in! You get the permit FIRST, THEN the coon. People have to play by the rules!
Sorry to bust your bubble but if you get caught with it .. the animal will be taken from you and destroyed. This is the law in most states. You are not allowed to have a native wild animal as a pet. I have raised many baby raccoons and they do NOT make good pets. I bottle feed them and train them to survive and then release them into the wild where they should be. They are cute and all when they are small but when it's about a year old it will naturally leave it's mother. In this case YOU. The mother raccoon does not have to drive the babies away, they leave of their own choice. The animal will become ill tempered and start biting and you will have to cage it ... no longer be able to really play with it or hold it. What a shame for such a great animal, to spend the rest of it's life in a miserable cage or on a chain. If it escapes with a collar on it will choke to death as it gets bigger. And chances are if it escapes it will die anyway as it will not know how to find food on it's own and get killed as it scrounges around homes searching for food and/or bites someone because it is no longer afraid of people.
Best advice is to give it back and get a ferret or two.