Eastern Wildlife Damage Control Conferences
Date of this Version
October 1993
Abstract
The current procedure for handling wildlife nuisance problems in North Carolina requires the landowner, manager, or lessee to obtain a Wildlife Depredation Permit from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (CWRC), except when an animal is caught damaging property. The Wildlife Damage Committee of the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society has evaluated the policy. Current laws and regulations do protect valuable, native wildlife species, but these requirements are unsatisfactory for handling routine nuisance wildlife problems. Citizen demand for assistance could be satisfied better if existing legislation were rewritten to provide the Commission more latitude in declaring certain animals pests under certain conditions. Additionally, private pest control operators could be trained and licensed to handle wildlife nuisance problems. The rationale and consequences of these policy changes are discussed.