April 2022 Guest Speaker

The guest speaker for the April 20th member’s meeting was Kevin Cornwell. Kevin is a Wildlife Control Officer (WCO). His presentation was titled “An Introduction to the Wildlife Control Industry”.

Kevin described the differences between WCO’s and Pest Control Operators (PCO’s). PCO’s are focused on eliminating the pest animals while WCO’s focus on the pest animals as a symptom of a larger problem. WCO’s look at how and why there is a pest problem and attempt to eliminate access pathways and correct problems, so the animals don’t have a reason or way to return. This is accomplished without harming the animals in the process. WCO’s are trained to know the proper way to remove various animals safely, make repairs to damaged areas of structures and install animal proofing. Examples of animal proofing includes replacing damaged wood with metal to prevent the ability of the animals to return. WCO’s obtain certification and have ongoing training requirements for their positions.

The existence of wildlife in urban areas is increasing as a result of several factors.  Loss of natural habitat, the existence of easily accessed food sources and acceptable nesting areas are a few examples. Kevin noted that many animals after the third generation have imprinted adaption to the urban areas and would have a difficult time trying to survive if returned to the wild. He also explained that trapping animals on your property and transporting them to another location to release them is breaking a couple of different laws. You can trap animals on your property, but you must release them on your property. Transporting animals to another location causes problems for the animals as well as potentially transporting animal diseases from one area to another.

Another function of the WCO’s is educating the general public on how to live with wildlife in urban areas. The reasons animals are living in close proximity to humans will only increase in the future. If we want to conserve wildlife, we need to figure out ways to coexist.

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