Hello, Check with you State Fish and Wildlife Department, as in some states you are allowed to release if it is on the same property. For the state that I am in, the law requires that any wildlife caught must be humanly euthanized but if you continue to read the law it states that releasing on the same property is legal.
If you are in Central Park you might be able to catch and release elsewhere with park limits. Keep in mind, that baby/juvenile raccoons generally stay with the mother for about the first year until they leave to establish their own territory. So you might have to wait until it is old enough to survive on its own. Raccoons also have strong homing instincts and have been known to return to an area so you will need to take it at least 10 miles away if that is possible. I hope this help. Have a great day. Denise Young-Craig The J. Paul Getty Trust/Grounds and Gardens/Pest Control (O) 310-440-6321 (M) 310-909-4575 [cid:[email protected]] From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Lisa Bruno Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2025 12:54 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [PestList] RE: Urban Raccoons The closest we came to this was a big grey squirrel. Somehow he got into our walls, was heard running around the 6th floor above Development, Administration and the Boardroom. Luckily, he never was near art. He found a pathway into the Boardroom and one of our engineers tracked his movement for a few days, and eventually caught him and put him in a carrier/cage and two other staff members released him in the park. The squirrel seamed relieved. Second story – a juvenile red-tailed hawk – got into the galleries from skylights. He was found sitting on the frame of a Sargent painting. He was beautiful but the talons! We isolated the gallery, and eventually called people from the Prospect Park Zoo who sent over staff who caught him and removed him for release. Hope that helps. Lisa From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> On Behalf Of Nau, Morgan Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2025 3:39 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [PestList] Urban Raccoons Hello All, I’m writing to the group about a “pest” that’s new to me - raccoons - and I’d love some thoughts and advice from the group. We are located in Central Park, so there is a significant amount of wildlife all around us (a coyote showed up on the 5th Ave side just a couple months ago!). This spring, a raccoon family moved into a tree right next to the museum and made themselves quite comfortable. For the last month one of the juveniles has begun exploring the exterior of the museum and he’s been found on the roof garden, on ledges, and most recently has turned a construction site into his personal jungle gym. He stays away from people, doesn’t appear sick or rabid, hasn’t caused any damage or made any messes, and is clearly just very curious (I’ve attached a few pictures of the little bandit in action). So far, I’ve advised people to give a wide berth and to keep the site clear of food and trash, which they have, and the construction crew haven’t had any problems. Unfortunately, work is beginning on our skylights in a couple of weeks (so I’m on a time crunch!) and there is concern that it could find a way into the building and cause general chaos and serious damage, especially given his adventurous nature - which we absolutely don’t want. The major concern I have though is that according to NYC law, when a licensed wildlife professional traps a raccoon, they cannot relocate it, but are required to euthanize it (source<https://link.edgepilot.com/s/ee5b6d24/9tRVwZZpqEW433PHL9gTlw?u=https://www.nyc.gov/site/wildlifenyc/animals/raccoons.page>). And the last thing I want to do is have a healthy, nondangerous animal put down if it isn’t necessary. We have a great pest management vendor who is aware that he’s been around and I’ll be alerting them to this latest development to brainstorm next steps. I’m also working on connecting with the NYC Parks department to see if they can help me come up with solutions. And I was hoping that there might be members in this group who have experience with this kind of thing and might have less lethal suggestions as well. Feel free to message me off-list if you’d prefer - [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. Thank you all for any insight and thoughts! Morgan -- Morgan Nau IPM Program Administrator Director's Office The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10028 @metmuseum<https://link.edgepilot.com/s/cf5a805e/ha3Ef6BeTUSRS2gmb2_qcQ?u=https://www.instagram.com/metmuseum> metmuseum.org<https://link.edgepilot.com/s/edb5a1f9/a6FnJ0wv5U65tSS7hl46PA?u=http://www.metmuseum.org/> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. To view this discussion visit https://link.edgepilot.com/s/d7e474ee/Hru4UwgKvkeTPjf0IMOj1A?u=https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/SN6PR05MB55994064AC10F75417EBF080883BA%2540SN6PR05MB5599.namprd05.prod.outlook.com<https://link.edgepilot.com/s/914c7e26/N1X9rH5so0utdN9QcPMrXA?u=https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/SN6PR05MB55994064AC10F75417EBF080883BA%2540SN6PR05MB5599.namprd05.prod.outlook.com?utm_medium=email%26utm_source=footer>. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/BY5PR05MB707412EE5DE9A85E820E316DE53BA%40BY5PR05MB7074.namprd05.prod.outlook.com<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/BY5PR05MB707412EE5DE9A85E820E316DE53BA%40BY5PR05MB7074.namprd05.prod.outlook.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the Getty. Do not click links or open attachments unless you verify the sender and know the content is safe. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MuseumPests" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pestlist/CY4PR05MB3318B93524A5EBAAE2A33C25AB3BA%40CY4PR05MB3318.namprd05.prod.outlook.com.
