Resident urges Anniston to develop wildlife-response protocol after raccoon incident

Brian, a resident who addressed the council during public comment, urged the Anniston City Council to develop a protocol for responding to erratic wildlife after an incident near the Lodiak Trail.

"We don't have any protocol to deal with our wildlife if there is a problem with wildlife," Brian said. He told the council he called police and was directed to multiple wildlife trappers; he said the city's animal control unit handles dogs only. "The only thing that I was told to do... was to call the wildlife people who capture it, but it would have been I would have had to pay for it to do spends of a 100 plus dollars," Brian said.

Brian said it took more than 24 hours to get the situation resolved and in that interval people were feeding the animal and children were pointing it out. He told the council that the timing was especially concerning because the Lodiak Trail is opening soon and that the city should have a plan to remove or contain wildlife acting erratically.

The transcript records that city officials said they would follow up with the commenter after the meeting; no formal direction, motion or ordinance was recorded on the topic during the meeting. The public comment is recorded in the meeting minutes as a request for staff or council action to examine policies and response options for wildlife incidents, including whether animal control's scope should be adjusted or whether a paid contractor is needed.