KING

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Raccoons are on the move and on the attack.

Warmer weather has brought out large numbers of raccoons roaming Western Washington neighborhoods. Recently, in Bellingham's Birchwood neighborhood a pest trapper caught eight raccoons in five nights from one family's back yard.

Later, another raccoon came back and killed two of the family's pet ducks and charged at a person. Several neighborhood animals have recently come up missing and raccoons are suspected of killing them.

That pest trapper says part of the problem is an initiative passed by Washington voters 7 years ago. It outlawed several kinds of traps used by sport trappers. He says that has caused the raccoon population to explode. He says the attacks are only going to get worse... especially as both the human and raccoon populations continue to grow.

Raccoons have been known to attack humans and can carry a host of diseases such as rabies.