Opossums....

So I guess we can all agree then by the #s alone, dogs are "scarier" when talking about prime vector carriers.
Moral of the story, stop hating on skunks (legal pets in some parts of the US as well) @ Darkitty Dark One

**no animals were harmed in the making of this thread**

How do you get that from what I said? They're only "scarier" when you talk un-developed and/or poorer nations. And that's because of the lack of resources available to have a viable vaccination program.

According to the CDC, 92% of all rabies reports in 2010 (think it just means the US) came from wild animals, of which 36.5% were from raccoons, 23.5% from skunks, 23.2% from bats, and 7% from foxes. Only 8% of cases came from domesticated animal sources (meaning dogs, cats, and others). I would be much more concerned about contracting rabies if I was bitten by a wild animal as opposed to a dog.

Just because something can be legally kept as a pet, doesn't mean it's a good idea.

And there's another reason to hate skunks...they eat pheasant eggs, earthworms, frogs, lizards, and honeybees. All creatures much more useful and valuable than an ambulatory stink factory.

I get it...you really, really, really hate skunks for a multitude of reasons.

I originally commented b/c I noticed early in the thread you told someone that skunks werent cute (an opinion) and that they carried rabies. I thought that was interesting because outside of their defense mechanism, the things you pointed out about skunks easily apply to dogs as well.

You asked someone if they ever encountered a real skunk. I ask you, have you ever dealt with a feral dog or a pack? Hated to do it, but had to kill some that regularly harassed our area while I was in Iraq. That doesnt mean I hate dogs b/c of the way they act when not domesticated; I actually love dogs and am a Doberman owner.

Of course you are more likely to catch rabies from a skunk in the US, since they are more commonly encountered in the wild. In a lot of places outside the US, dogs are in a similiar boat. Considering many countries dont have the same vaccination standards as the US, I stand by my original comment that between the animals we discussed, dogs are probably the main contenders for carrying rabies. Thats strictly from a broader view since the job forces me to travel regularly.

Im not really interested in pet skunks, but Im also not into birds or fish as pets either...to each their own I say. Thanks to you and this post though, I learned that skunks can have their musk glands removed (like ferrets), are "legal" in some US states (not sure how thats regulated), are easily domesticated and people that enjoy them claim they are very intelligent and extremely playful.

As far as diets go...(outside of the recent problems with honeybees) Im not sure why you would be overly concerned with pheasants, earthworms, frogs or lizards unless they are on an endangered species list. If youre being serious, you really have to quadruple your portfolio of your most hated animals and insects since the ones you listed are on the bottom of the food chain for probably half of the wildlife out there.

Attached a couple of snapshots of your dreaded arch-nemesis:

SKUNKS...AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Indeed. Ferrets still stink afterward. I've not encountered a domestic skunk. Hedgehogs are cute, though, if a bit timid.

They aren't cute. That coloration is a warning. As in, "Don't mess with this.". No different than a rattlesnake shaking its tail.

Feral dogs, no. Coyotes, yes. Close enough to not matter. I can go outside pretty much every night and hear them howling nearby. They've harassed my pets in the past and come close enough to my father to have him concerned for his safety.

And that's not really answering the question, now is it?

Let's see...an animal that is on every continent and regularly comes into contact with humans as well as being in jurisdictions that have shoddy at best vaccine programs vs animals that are specific to a much smaller region and are not really transplanted across the globe.

I've provided numbers to back up my argument. While it is possible that overall dogs and other domesticated species may act as the larger carrier, they do not in this country.

I've babysat ferrets for friends in the past. Even descented, they still have a quite strong odor.

As for removing the scent glands, that's not legal in (if wiki is right) the UK, since it's a cosmetic surgery.

Just because something is legal, does not mean it is a good idea. And there is no recognized vaccine program for pet skunks, so they may still get the disease and pass it on.

Pheasants - valuable game bird; eat insects and seeds, both of which can help to reduce the usage of herbicides and pesticides in cropland.

Frogs - eat insects; may act as a dampener on damaging grasshopper populations.

Lizards - same as frogs.

Earthworms - soil aerator and enhancer.

Other birds such as swallows and kildeer - eat mosquitoes and other insects

Skunks have no real predator other than the great horned owl. There's not a whole lot there to keep their populations in check. Instead, they can do damage to other populations that are much more useful and beneficial.

30 seconds after this photo was taken, they tore her to shreds.

That my friend is a classic pic.
You pull this out of the family album or what?

AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com

Comedic GOLD.

You win sir/ma'am; I am officially a newly converted skunk hater.

At the end of the day, I guess skunks should be shunned in the most dramatic terms possible for being the extremely dangerous, overly disgusting and the multi-species destroying juggernauts that they truly are.
Anytime I see a skunk in the future, I will immediately think,"rattlesnake!" and promptly run for my life.

You have won me over b/c clearly your opinions should be treated as fact and you are THE authoritative expert on which animals are valuable to our ecosystem and which are useless.

I appreciate the online sparring.

Hey, did you even look at the skunk pix I submitted?

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE!!!

**edit (cute in a murderous way...thanks Tenzhi)**

I was thinking the exact same thing lol.

The first pic has a skunk about to murder a stuffed toy.

The second pic has a surfeit of skunks about to murder a woman.

The third pic is of a skunk who has eaten the family cat right out of its litterbox.

Cute.