Threats to squirrels in Laguna Hills and Santa Clara turn deadly

DEAR JOAN: My neighbor is shooting squirrels in his garden and in my trees, too.

Last May, we called the police to stop him shooting. He is still shooting, and now he is poisoning all the squirrels. We feel sad to see it. Is it legal to kill all the animals when they didn’t harm anything?

Antony Bouchez, Laguna Hills

DEAR ANTONY: Now that’s a very bad neighbor.

California has four species of tree squirrels — the Western gray, the Douglas, the Eastern fox and the Eastern gray, all of which are classified under hunting regulations as “resident small game.” A fifth squirrel, the Northern flying squirrel, is not considered a pest animal and is not classified as game.

It gets a bit complicated from here. You’re only allowed to hunt those four squirrels species if you have a hunting license, and only during hunting season, which opened in September and runs through Jan. 29, 2023. There are exceptions.

While squirrel hunting is not permitted in Southern California, if the Eastern fox squirrel, a non-native squirrel, is damaging property, it can be controlled at any time. Outside of hunting season, special permission is required from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Poisoning squirrels, however, is not allowed any time or anywhere, so your neighbor is definitely violating the law there. I also had a letter from a Santa Clara resident reporting that a homeowners association in that city has put out bait boxes and is killing loads of squirrels. They sent me pictures to demonstrate the carnage.

In both cases, those violators need to be reported. Your best recourse is to notify the Department of Fish and Wildlife in your area, your local animal control and the police. By doing all three, you stand a better chance of getting someone to respond. I’d also let your area Humane Society know about it, too. In these cases, there’s no such thing as being too loud.

The neighbor using the gun might also be violating city regulations about discharging firearms within city limits, but it depends on the type of gun being used. Pellet or BB guns are usually allowed, although they still need to be fired responsibly, not sending pellets into neighbors’ yards.

DEAR JOAN: Recently, someone asked you why noisy crows gathered in her yard in large numbers. I have a theory on that: Party time.

I think that the crows gather in large numbers in certain yards to have a party. They are very raucous, making a lot of noise and having a great time.

Two crows visit my yard when I feed them dog food every morning. If other crows that are not from their family come, my two crows chase them away. My yard is not a party yard. Crows just want to have fun.

Eileen Hamper, Campbell