Georgia’s raccoons would lose their safe North Georgia haven under legislation approved in the state House on Friday.
The House voted 144-18 to send House Bill 160 to the Senate.
Bill sponsor Rep. Emory Dunahoo, R-Gainesville, said the bill strikes the ban on trapping raccoons "in that area north of and including Carroll, Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Barrow, Jackson, Madison, and Elbert counties at any time during the year."
Dunahoo said the bill comes at the request of the Department of Natural Resources, which wants to make it legal for residents to take care of the pesky masked marauders without fear of being ticketed.
More than half a century ago, raccoons were popular among trappers and furriers, leading the DNR to protect raccoons in part of the state to maintain the population. Now, however, the critters are a nuisance to many.
“That doesn’t mean everybody in your neighborhood is going to go out at Christmas and buy traps and trap raccoons,” Dunahoo said.
Rep. Al Williams, D-Midway, jokingly said he and his South Georgia brethren welcome the bill.
“Isn’t it true by passing this bill we’ll be able to get some of our missing raccoons back to South Georgia?” Williams asked.
Dunahoo said that, indeed, it will.
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