Shooting Animals

I don't recall any statutes about shooting animals when I took the CHP course. What statutes, if any, speak to that. There was a fox in my back yard over the weekend and I was going to shoot it because I have a 2 year old who plays outside. Then I thought about the city ordinance in Greensboro about discharging a firearm in the city limits and wasn't sure if that was a situation when it would be ok.

Not sure what the law is on it but if It's not being aggressive why just shoot it? We keep taking their habitat away and then want to just killing for be them. If you chose to live where wild life lives then accept them for what they are, WILD. If you give him some space and he doesn't have rabies, I'm sure he will move on. I don't understand why people just want to shoot an animal just because.

The taking of foxes is regulated by the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission.
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Regs/documents/fox_seasons_dates.pdf
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Regs/2010_11/2010-11_Seasons.pdf

There is a closed season for foxes and you must have a hunting license (after first completing a hunter safety course):
FOX
Nov. 20 – Jan. 1
Daily limit 2; Season 10
This season applies as follows:
● In those counties and parts of counties east of I-77 where local
laws do not prohibit the taking of foxes or that do not have
established fox seasons (see page 72 for local laws).
● Foxes taken during this hunting season shall not be bought or sold.
● In Caldwell and Mitchell counties, foxes may be taken by
firearms or bow and arrow only.
Jan. 1 – 22
Daily limit 2; Season 10
● Foxes may be taken in the counties, listed below by legal weapons
and may be sold after being properly tagged (refer to page 8 for
more information on fox tags):
Caswell Henderson
Clay Macon
Graham Tyrrell
● Hunters must possess fox tags prior to harvesting foxes during
this season.
Year Round
Must be taken with dogs only; no limits.
There is no open weapons hunting season in any other county
except where provided by local laws. To see if your county
has a hunting season on foxes, see page 72 of this Digest
and the hunting page on www.ncwildlife.org. Click on “Fox
Season Hunting and Trapping Laws.”

Carry24/7 said:

Not sure what the law is on it but if It's not being aggressive why just shoot it? We keep taking their habitat away and then want to just killing for be them. If you chose to live where wild life lives then accept them for what they are, WILD. If you give him some space and he doesn't have rabies, I'm sure he will move on. I don't understand why people just want to shoot an animal just because.

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PETA much? Just kidding...kinda I don't want to shoot it "just because" I would shoot it because I have a 2 year old and I don't know if it has rabies. My little girl is with her nanny during the day so I wouldn't be around if it were to come back. My little girl's safety is not "just because". As for choosing to live where wild life is, it's not like I've moved into the middle of the woods. I live in a residential area that is close to two highways (one an interstate) a school, half a mile from a park and 3 minutes from Four Seasons (the mall in Greensboro).

In the city, you'll get in some hot water unless you can convince them it's self defense. I recommend airguns. Jus sayin.

Yeah I do belong to PETA. People Eating Tasty Animals. I have no problem killing something if your going to eat it. But I don't like people shooting something just to do it or for fun. I understand your concern for the safety of your child. That's your job as a parent. Maybe have the nanny limit time outside when your not around if your concerned with her ability to protect her. I think you'd have more trouble with the common household dog before a fox and I'm sure their are more of them around then foxes. How much of your area was woods just 5 years ago? Just because there is a neighbourhood there now it hasn't always been there. But if it come to protecting my loved ones I'll do what is needed and worry about the laws after. If it comes to that. Look at all the people walking out of court lately. I guess its not hard to find 12 people that think the same as you.

jp49911 said:

PETA much? Just kidding...kinda I don't want to shoot it "just because" I would shoot it because I have a 2 year old and I don't know if it has rabies. My little girl is with her nanny during the day so I wouldn't be around if it were to come back. My little girl's safety is not "just because". As for choosing to live where wild life is, it's not like I've moved into the middle of the woods. I live in a residential area that is close to two highways (one an interstate) a school, half a mile from a park and 3 minutes from Four Seasons (the mall in Greensboro).

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This vid says it all.


http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/149674/its-coming-right-for-us

Call the city and voice your concern. Then ask what to do if it is acting aggressive. Than kill it if need be.

Unless you raise rabbits or free-range chickens, there is almost no good reason to kill a fox that has shown no symptoms of rabies.

In the US, foxes are the source of only about 6% of reported rabies cases in animals.

A bat is three times more likely than a fox in the US to be a rabies vector.

Skunks are almost 5 times more likely and racoons are nearly 7 times more likely to be a rabies vector.

So unless you live in Europe (where foxes ARE the primary rabies vector--40%), you really have little to worry about from foxes. The are generally skittish around people--they do NOT initiate human contact, and the fact that you saw one in your yard only shows that recent development in your area has probably encroached on their natural habitat.

If the thing isn't hanging around, or isn't chasing your dogs and cats, or exhibiting odd behavior like climbing fences or yowling, the fact is there is very little chance that it is rabid in most of the US.


The most recent rabid fox attacks in NC of a human (that I could find) were in Durham County and in Chapel Hill in June of 2009, and was during a county-wide rabies epidemic among all sorts of animals (mostly dogs). Interestingly enough, these two attacks occurred between a few hours of each other. None of the victims got ill, as they were all immediately taken to hospital for medical treatment.

In fact, foxes have some of the lowest incidences of rabies among predatory mammals in MOST of North America, with a few small exceptions. And those exceptions are almost invariably in "suburban" areas where recent development has encroached on foxes natural territory.

Killing a fox you saw in your yard because "it might have rabies" is like telling your wife to have a radical mastectomy because she might get breast cancer...

Many areas allow homeowners to deal with 'nuisance animals'. Sometimes that term is defined more thoroughly then others. Find out what your area allows, and what specific animals are covered, if any.

Using the "Rabies" excuse sounds like a Cop Out to me. Using your reasoning, then you would shoot every animal that came into your yard? It's kind of like......"That guy looks dangerous, so I am just going to shoot him".

This:

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/149674/its-coming-right-for-us

If you go outside and the animal does not run off, it has something wrong with it. I've had to put a coon down, and saw another one walking circles in someones front yard, but I live in the country so it comes with the territory. The one I put down probably had distemper. It was staggering, growling, and coming towards me at about 2:00 one afternoon.

Two people in Pilot Mt. were bitten by a fox back in Feb. and a kid was bitten in Dobson a couple of years ago so it can and does happen. My suggestion is to walk outside. If it runs off it isn't a threat. If it doesn't and you are in the city limits use an air gun or call animal control. Anything that might have rabies needs to be sent to be tested. The best way to control furbearing animals populations is by trapping, and there are a lot of counties out there that don't have a fox trapping season. Confirmed cases of rabies might help their argument.

Remember,to be eligable to check for rabies the head can't have any extra holes in it.

Neighbor shoots dog....

chiefjason said:

In the city, you'll get in some hot water unless you can convince them it's self defense. I recommend airguns. Jus sayin.

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Speaking of this topic...reading the local newspaper and saw this:

Neighbor shoots dog

@Cary24/7
I knew you were part of PETA...me too! I do share your sentiment to not shoot animals just to shoot them and I get what you mean about how the neighborhood could be new. This neighborhood has been here for decades and while I do have some trees and brush around my house, it's far from the woods. It can't be anymore than 20 feet of trees; I can see the highway through the trees.

@Dreamer
We can always count on you for details and sourced information. I would say thanks but you ruined it with your mastectomy analogy.

@TFED12
Wasn't using it as an excuse. If I was trigger happy just anxious to shoot it I would have. Even if not rabid, I just though about my two year old getting mauled or something. I will be the first to admit, I'm no nature boy so maybe it's due to some ignorance but you have to admit, fox in my backyard where my two year old plays sounds dangerous to an average person.

@25-06shooter
We actually had a stare down and it didn't run away. It didn't run toward me either; it eventually walked off after about a full minute (it was maybe 30 yrds away).


Thanks everyone for all the feedback!

Southpark Clip

Hilarious!

Trap it...

I've been seeing stories about rabid foxes.

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/7497495/
http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/7769912/

chiefjason said:

In the city, you'll get in some hot water unless you can convince them it's self defense. (snip)

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I agree with this, especially in Greensboro.

+1 to either trapping it (buy a live trap at southern states) and letting it go somewhere else, or call animal control.

I live in the city (moved from Greensboro to Reidsville) and have had fox, coon, and skunks all come up in the yard during daylight hours. I have a 5 year old and another on the way, and it doesn't worry me. Every time I go out the door if they are out there, they scurry away quickly.

I agree with the poster who said, if they don't run away, that is when you have to worry.

jp49911 said:

@25-06shooter
We actually had a stare down and it didn't run away. It didn't run toward me either; it eventually walked off after about a full minute (it was maybe 30 yrds away).

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Critters get used to people and the sounds that come with our daily activities. Their typical reaction to being surprised is to freeze and decide if what they see is a threat (other than a turkey......theres not a curious bone in a turkeys body). The fox viewed you as no threat so it didn't run. If you had started towards it, it would have probably made a run for the woods. If it didn't run when I advanced on it is when I would start to get worried.

If I decided to advance on it I would make sure I had something in my hand. A fox can cover 30 yds VERY quickly! :shocker:
Of course if you advanced on it with a firearm in your hand technically you would be the instigator, therefore not justified in using deadly force in self defense until you backed out of the situation. Just how quick can you draw?


BTW, it is illegal for the general public to relocate animals. They just become someone elses problem.

Better to relocate than kill it (unless of course it is aggressive).

I am sure there are a few places that you could move it that it wouldn't be a problem. I would not just dump it on someone else's property without permission, because then you really are dumping your problem on them.

You also do have the option of trapping it and then calling animal control (because lets face it, if you call when you see the fox, they won't get there before it is long gone).

"When your life depends on seconds, the police are just minutes away"