Are wild animals becoming more common in New Orleans? Since the Louisiana SPCA shifted away from that aspect of animal control, some people think they have become more common.
During New Orleans City Council budget hearings, Councilman Jay Banks asked about wildlife which he sees more often in the city.
"Coyotes, raccoons, possums, chickens, hogs -- what do we do about them?" Banks asked Louisiana SPCA director Ana Zorrilla.
"There was a time that it was actually included in the contract with the Louisiana SPCA to respond to all of those wildlife needs," Zorrilla said. "As the funding has shrunk over the years, that's one of the services that we were not able to continue to provide."
Zorrilla says private citizens end up having to hire professional trappers if they have a problem with wild animals.
"At at this point there is a gap, and it really falls on individual citizens to pay private trappers or private companies to come out and respond," though she did say the SPCA keeps a list of professionals to provide people in need of those services.
Otherwise, it takes an immediate danger to the public in order for the LA SPCA to become involved.
"We've had a couple of those where we've had coyotes at schools," Zorrilla said.
