IDYLLWILD, Calif. (KNX) — A single wildlife trapper in the San Bernardino County mountain community of Idyllwilld has been responsible for catching 5,255 raccoons and 535 coyotes in the area last year, according to the California Deaprtment of Fish and Wildlife.
Most of those animals caught during the fiscal year ending in June 2021 were killed, according to agency filings.
The number of animals trapped by Tracy Philippi surpassed the total annual catch of the state’s other 603 licensed trapping companies combined.
Philippi operates Better Wildlife Control with no employees other than his wife. He’s been trapping wildlife for more than three decades, and his large catch for 2021 was not unusually high, he told Southern California News Group.
“Every animal I”m called out for by HOAs and homeowners is a coyote eating a domestic animal or a raccoon in a house,” Philippi told SCNG. He explained that he regularly works 18 hours a day, seven days a week.
Wildlife advocates have responded with concern at Philippi’s yearly tallies, however.
“I’m worred that he’s trapping animals that are just going about their business without creating problems,” Sonoma County-based Keli Hendricks, who works for the nonprofit Project Coyote, told SCNG. “I have trouble believing that anyone trapping that many raccoons has concerns about wildlife.”
CDFW scientist Matt Meshriy reasoned that 2021 was the first year they collected trapping data, and not all trappers reported. The department therefore had no historical data to compare Philippi’s numbers to.
“As longa s the trapping is being done in a legal manner and there is no additional evidence of animal cruelty, then there’s not much jurisdiction for CDFW to investigate,” he said.
Members of the public who suspect a trapper has broken animal cruelty laws may submit tips and evidence to the department via its CalTIP line, which stands for “Californians Turn in Poachers and Polluters,” at (888) 334-2258.
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