If the majority of Toronto voters had their way, raccoons would face a formidable threat in the city.
In a telephone survey of 931 Torontonians, 53 per cent of people said they approve of humanely euthanizing raccoons to control their population.
A little more than a quarter of the respondents said they disagree with euthanizing the furry creatures infamous for toppling green bins across the city, leaving a big mess on people’s driveways and striking fear into the hearts of many residents.
Nineteen percent said they had no opinion in the survey conducted by Forum Research.
A death sentence for the wild critters was supported most by provincial PC voters at 62 per cent, as well as the oldest and wealthiest male respondents.
John Tory supporters were most likely to champion euthanization at 61 per cent, while Olivia Chow supporters were least likely at 46 per cent to advocate killing to cull the raccoon numbers.
Mayor Rob Ford recently said that Toronto has a “serious raccoon problem,” adding that his driver, wife and children are scared of raccoons.
“I've had some standoffs with some raccoons," Ford told reporters earlier this month. "I'm not a big raccoon fan, I'll tell you that straight up."
Yet, Ford said he disagrees with euthanization, as do 22 per cent of his supporters, unless the raccoons start “going after kids.”
The Forum Research poll also found that 59 per cent of those over the age of 55 and 62 per cent of those earning a household income of more than $80,000 were the strongest proponents of euthanization.
The poll has a three per cent margin of error.
