Shooting injured racoon not cool

Richmond - The Editor, Recently, a group of teenage boys on Vinmore Road near Francis Road in west Richmond did an unspeakable thing.They chased a limping racoon and shot at him with pellet guns in broad daylight. It was a deliberate action. They drove by on their bikes, saw him, went home, got the guns, came back on foot, and hunted him down in our front yard, where he felt safe. He was a sitting duck.The boys, when questioned what they were doing, said that the raccoon, struggling to get around because of his wounded feet, was "a nuisance." The whole thing makes me sick to my stomach.This letter is to the boys, and also to their parents, because we know that raccoon as a neighbourhood friend.Sweet natured, respectful to pets, and no trouble, he has sometimes slept on our back porch and has been around long enough that we call him "Harry."Dear boys: We want you to know that we think YOU are a nuisance. What you did is illegal and immoral.Ask your friends and your girlfriends what they think, and don't expect to have any more friends or girlfriends.No-one in their right mind will want to hang out with you. You definitely don't need to ask your neighbours what they think - if you read this far, you know now that we think.You should be ashamed, embarrassed and punished. You just don't measure up as human.Dear parents of the boys: You need to keep a tighter rein on your children, out causing havoc and harming innocent wild creatures, intentionally, on a public street.I am writing in hopes that you see this and take away the pellet guns and dispose of them permanently.Boys, in closing, we want you to understand that we like the raccoons far more than we like you.It is definitely not okay what you did, and it will come back on you, in some way, some how. The world works like that.Brenda ClarkRichmond