Health officials have stopped short of killing raccoons that aren't diseased, Smith said. The sick animals die on their own. There is also a concern that children might eat the vaccine bait, which comes in containers the size of ketchup packets. A pet's first rabies vaccination is good for a year. Road surveys showed 1.19 raccoons per mile last year, more than double the rate when counting began in 1981.
Raccoons prefer agricultural and urban settings to the wild.
So the more development, the more raccoons.