Last week, the Newburyport Waterfront Trust, a four-member board that oversees a 4.4-acre public park along the Merrimack River in the center of the historic downtown, voted unanimously to pay a private animal control agent $75 for each skunk he trapped and killed.  According to the Waterfront Trust and Animal Control, the skunks pose a problem to humans or dogs that use the park. (

The Newburyport Waterfront Trust manages Waterfront Park, the vibrant 4.4 acre park in the center of Newburyport’s downtown waterfront. The Park includes six public access points from the heart of downtown to a 1100 foot boardwalk and its memorial benches along the Merrimac River, a sculpture park, and a large grass area fronting on the Merrimac which is very active with concerts, performances, yoga classes, and is a popular site for weddings.)

They are calling this "routine wildlife management". Really? Because the skunks dig holes looking for grubs, they apparently are causing property damage. 

(The four skunks trapped this week were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, according to Heyck. The contractor hired by the Waterfront Trust, Jack Card of Nuisance Wildlife Solutions in Newburyport, did not respond to a phone message from the Globe. Boston Globe, Oct. 3, 2014.)

Why is this allowed to happen?  There have not been any complaints about skunks. The four skunks were trapped near the dumpster of a nearby restaurant. One park user said that part of the problem is the way people throw away trash. If they use the receptacles and the restaurant closes and cleans around it's dumpster, then that is half the battle solved. 

Skunks are calm, clean animals. They don't have rabies. Skunks don't pose any more of a threat of rabies than an unvaccinated dog or cat. Skunks eat 70% of all harmful insects known to man and even eat mice and snakes. With skunks around there is no need for harmful pesticides or chemicals to control garden pests. 

I started this petition because it's wrong. It's wrong! There isn't even a good enough reason to kill them. Even if there was, what would it be? They eat too many grubs? We have to STOP doing this to our planet and we have to learn to live together.

It's just wrong to kill something just because you think you can stop the problem that way.