Virginia says it won't accept D.C.'s 'nuisance' critters

Virginia won’t accept the District’s unwanted raccoons, opossums and other “nuisance” critters, calling into question key components of a D.C. Council bill designed to make life easier for pesky animals.

The legislation introduced by Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh sets new standards for the treatment of wild animals by the professionals hired to boot the critters out of homes received tentative approval from the full council last month. The new law would limit the tools wildlife managers can use to kill the beasts. In many cases it requires the animals to be kept alive and relocated “to safe location where nuisance problems are unlikely to occur.”