Distemper is a disease that attacks an animals nervous system. Symptoms of distemper include erratic behavior, vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. The Niagara region is seeing an increase in raccoons who are suffering from this disease. And make no mistake, they are suffering.

So, how did it come to this?

When people trap and relocate an animal that is infected (not necessarily visibly), and these animals are shipped off into foreign areas where they have little means of survival, this is often the outcome. Forced to fend for themselves, not knowing where food sources and den sites are located, wildlife are literally scratching to survive. This leads to conflict and disease, simply moving the problems to another area for it to spread.

The survival rate of relocated wildlife hovers around 40%.

You can read the full St.Catherines Standard article here.