Yes, it is legal to kill raccoons in Washington state, but the reason you kill one, the method you use, and what you do with the body afterward are all regulated. Raccoons are classified as unclassified wildlife, meaning no closed season and no bag limit,1Washington State Legislature. Washington Administrative Code 220-400-020 but the state bans most trap types, requires humane killing, and prohibits moving a live raccoon off the property where you caught it. Get any of those wrong and a legal pest removal can become a criminal charge.
When You’re Allowed to Kill One
Two separate rules cover most situations.
If a raccoon is actively damaging your crops or domestic animals, WAC 220-440-060 lets you, as the owner or tenant, kill it without a hunting license, trapping license, or WDFW permit.2Washington State Legislature. Washington Administrative Code 220-440-060 The damage has to be real and ongoing. A raccoon crossing your yard doesn’t qualify; a raccoon in the chicken coop does. The authority also stays on your land. You can’t use this rule to shoot raccoons on a neighbor’s property.
Even though no permit is required, photograph the damage. Killed poultry, destroyed garden beds, torn siding, or a chewed-open coop give you a record if a wildlife officer ever asks why lethal removal was justified.
If you’re not responding to property damage, you’re hunting, and Washington requires a valid hunting license and any applicable permits in the field.3Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Hunting Licenses There’s still no bag limit or season for raccoons, but the license requirement applies.
Legal Killing Methods
WDFW requires that any trapped or captured nuisance animal be killed humanely, following American Veterinary Medical Association euthanasia guidelines.4Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Trapping Nuisance Wildlife For a raccoon, the approved methods are:
- Gunshot from a .22 caliber firearm or a .22 caliber air or CO2 rifle, at minimum. A standard .177 pellet gun or BB gun does not meet the standard.
- Carbon dioxide delivered from a compressed gas cylinder into an airtight chamber, used only in a well-ventilated area because CO2 is dangerous to humans in enclosed spaces.
- Chemical euthanasia, which only a licensed veterinarian or a permitted humane society can administer.
Several methods people assume are acceptable are specifically prohibited. Drowning a trapped raccoon, burying it alive, freezing it, or injecting it with unapproved chemicals all violate WDFW’s humane standards.4Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Trapping Nuisance Wildlife Suffocation is treated as first-degree animal cruelty under RCW 16.52.205, which is a felony.
If you plan to shoot the animal, check your city or county firearm discharge ordinance before you do. Most Washington municipalities ban gunfire within city limits with only narrow exceptions. You may have the legal right to kill the raccoon and no legal way to fire a gun where you live. In that situation, CO2 euthanasia or hiring a professional are the realistic paths.
Traps You Can and Can’t Use
Washington voters passed Initiative 713 in 2000, and the resulting statutes, RCW 77.15.192 and 77.15.194, ban body-gripping traps for capturing any animal. The definition is broad: it covers steel-jawed leghold traps, padded-jaw leghold traps, Conibear traps, neck snares, and nonstrangling foot snares.5Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 77-15-192 – Definitions Using any of them is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.6Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 77.15.192 – Unlawful Trapping of Fur-Bearing Mammals Selling or trading the fur of any mammal caught in a body-gripping trap in Washington is separately illegal.7Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 77-15-194 – Unlawful Traps Penalty
What you can use without any permit: cage traps, box traps, and standard mouse or rat snap traps. Cage traps are the standard tool for residential raccoon problems and are sold at most hardware stores.4Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Trapping Nuisance Wildlife
A narrow exception exists. WDFW’s director can issue a special trapping permit under WAC 220-417-040 authorizing padded leghold traps, Conibear traps in water, or nonstrangling foot snares, but only if you apply in writing and show the problem can’t reasonably be solved with non-lethal tools. The permit lasts up to 30 days and requires trap checks at least every 24 hours.8Washington State Legislature. Washington Administrative Code 220-417-040 Most homeowners never pursue this. Cage traps handle almost every residential situation.
What to Do With a Trapped Raccoon
Before you set the trap, decide what happens when it works. Washington gives you two legal options.
The first is release on the same property. Open the cage and let the animal go where you caught it. This works when you’ve sealed off the entry point to an attic or crawl space while the raccoon was in the trap, so the exclusion work keeps it from coming back inside.
The second is humane euthanasia using one of the approved methods above. If damage is ongoing and releasing the animal would just restart the cycle, this is the other legal choice.
What you cannot do is drive the trapped raccoon to a park, a forest, or a rural property and let it go. Possessing or transporting live wildlife without a permit is prohibited under WAC 220-450-030.4Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Trapping Nuisance Wildlife Relocated raccoons spread disease into new populations, and most don’t survive territorial conflict in unfamiliar territory. The rule exists for both reasons.
Disposing of the Carcass
Once the animal is dead, WAC 220-440-090 makes you responsible for disposing of the remains within 24 hours or as soon as feasible, without creating a public nuisance or contaminating water.9Legal Information Institute. Washington Administrative Code 220-440-090 – Disposal of Wildlife Killed Acceptable methods include burial, landfilling, incineration, composting, or rendering.
If you bury the carcass on your own property, every part of the animal must be covered by at least three feet of soil. The site has to sit at least 100 feet from any well, spring, stream, or surface water, cannot be in a low-lying area prone to seasonal flooding, and cannot fall within the sanitary control area of a public drinking water supply.9Legal Information Institute. Washington Administrative Code 220-440-090 – Disposal of Wildlife Killed Rocks or heavy wire screening over the site help keep scavengers from digging it up, and a layer of garden lime over the carcass before backfilling cuts the odor.
If the Raccoon Bit or Scratched Someone
If there was any human exposure before you killed the raccoon, the animal needs rabies testing. The Washington Department of Health requires wild carnivores involved in a suspected exposure to be euthanized and submitted for testing rather than observed, because the virus shedding period in wild animals isn’t known.10Washington Department of Health. Suspected Rabies Exposure Reporting and Investigation Guideline
Rabies testing requires an intact brain. A head shot destroys the sample and the lab can’t run the test. When you dispatch an animal that may need testing, WDFW instructs you to aim for the heart and lung area behind the front shoulder, near the point of the elbow.4Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Trapping Nuisance Wildlife Contact your local health jurisdiction as soon as you know there’s been exposure. Healthcare providers are required to report suspected rabies exposures without delay.10Washington Department of Health. Suspected Rabies Exposure Reporting and Investigation Guideline
When to Call a Certified Operator
If local firearm ordinances make lethal removal impractical, or you’d rather not handle the animal yourself, hire a certified wildlife control operator. Washington requires anyone running a commercial wildlife control business to hold WCO certification under WAC 220-440-100.11Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Wildlife Control Operator Certification Application A certified operator can trap, euthanize, and dispose of the animal within the rules. Professional raccoon removal typically runs between $150 and $1,900, depending on how many animals are involved and whether exclusion work is needed to seal entry points.