By Nathan Duke
Wildlife advocates are calling on an Astoria co-op to discontinue trapping squirrels following resident complaints that the bushy-tailed rodents were chewing the wires on their parked cars.
The city-based Empty Cages Collective, an all-volunteer urban animal advocacy group, blasted Astoria's Queensview Co-op last week after the 33rd Road-based residential community hired a wildlife control operator to trap and remove squirrels from the property.
“Unless Queensview commits to not trapping squirrels anymore, we are not going to let the issue go away,” said PJ McKosky, an Empty Cages spokesman. “The squirrels end up sitting in traps without food or water. One squirrel I released from a trap had a bloodied face from trying to release himself.”
But Frank Marcovitz, Queensview's property manager, said the co-op only removed the animals from the property for 10 days and used a licensed trapper.
“We had numerous incidents of squirrels getting into cars and chewing the wires, causing the cars to break down,” he said. “Some residents' cars sit there for weeks on end, which is a problem.”
Marcovitz said there was also one incident of squirrels getting into a co-op.
He said the rodents were not harmed after they were trapped, but released back into the wild. He said the co-op still has no future plan for preventing squirrels from attacking residents' cars or entering homes.
McKosky said co-op residents should install barriers, such as chimney caps, to prevent squirrels from entering their homes or spray repellent on their car wires.
He said trapping the animals is inhumane and often leaves baby squirrels to fend for themselves.
“Relocated wildlife has really high mortality rates,” McKosky said. “Regardless of whether they are killing them quickly or slowly, they are still killing them. They are being dumped in the middle of nowhere to die.”
He said more squirrels will return to Queensview to take the place of the ones that were removed.
Marcovitz said no squirrels were killed during the 10-day removal process. He said he was surprised by the outcry from wildlife advocates.
“They must have a well-organized network, the squirrel lovers,” he said.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
