Raccoons are dangerous. They used to come into our garage to eat our cat food until we got our dogs and started closing the cats and dogs in the garage at night. When we put up our chicken coop and pen, we used 5 foot high chain link and wired it to metal flashing which we put a foot deep into the ground. Above the chain link, we put poultry wire so the outdoor coop wire goes up for a total of about 9 feet. Well, one year a coon family figured out how to get up and over in spite of our efforts. They killed and injured so many chickens, and there were chicken parts everywhere. It was a bloody mess. We bought a large live animal trap and put it outside the chicken door with dry cat food inside. It took a couple of weeks but we trapped out about 6 coons, each one bigger and meaner than the one we caught the night before. The man who removed them for us took them to a steep slope near a lake about 45 minutes from here where the only way they could go when he opened the trap was down and away from him. He said that if you go 5 miles or less, they will find their way home. When you release them, you have to be very careful so that they don't turn around and rip into you. Even a pet coon ripped up the leg of a neighbor's friend when the woman was preparing raw chicken for supper and some of it got on her. You're lucky the coon wasn't cornered, because they have been known to kill dogs when they are. I don't know whether they eat ferrets or not, but again you're very lucky none of them were injured or worse. I used to think coons were so cute until I got to know them. Now I know how truly vicious they can be. We bring in any pet food at night to discourage their visits; and, as long as they leave us and our pets alone, we leave them alone. Nancy Wichita [Posted in FML issue 4499]