Management of raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Ontario, Canada: Do human intervention and disease have significant impact on raccoon populations?

Raccoons are one of the most successful furbearer species inhabiting North America today with substantial range expansion having occurred during the 20'h century. Although raccoon populations are not currently threatened in Ontario, substantial levels of raccoon mortality occur each year due to hunting and trapping, collisions with vehicles, infectious diseases such as rabies and canine distemper, and removal by animal control agencies. Raccoons an so plentiful that population densities in some areas exceed 100/km(2), with the Ontario raccoon population being estimated at about 1 million individuals. Such high numbers of raccoons have resulted in human/raccoon conflicts ranging from damage to ornamental gardens and crops, to residential building damage, to transmission of infectious diseases. Management of raccoons in Ontario is accomplished through harvest regulations, removal and euthanasia by municipal animal control agencies, public education strategies, and creation of buffer zones of immunized raccoons for infectious disease control. Neither disease nor human intervention appear to have significant impact on raccoon populations in Ontario. Canine distemper can cause high mortalities in Ontario raccoon populations; however, the disease does not appear to be limiting, in the sense that raccoon densities have been maintained in the 7-20/km(2) range in the presence of distemper outbreaks. One Ontario animal control agency reduced local raccoon populations by 12 %-29 % through nuisance animal removal, although, no significant impact was noted in the studied populations. However, when control was relaxed, raccoon density increased significantly. The success and resiliency of raccoons in Ontario and other regions of North America is attributed to their ability to adapt to most habitats, their omnivorous feeding habits, high reproductive rate, and lack of natural predators.