Families are not happy in one Wyoming community. Apparently, feral animals have been digging up the graves of their loved ones at a cemetery.
Now, people are complaining. It appears that Rawlins Cemetery has been overtaken by prairie dogs. The colony of animals burrow under the ground, and they have been tunneling through people's graves. Speaking with Cowboy State Daily, Janice Martinez blasted the cemetery for not doing something to address the problem.
Martinez said, "I cannot believe the damage "ground squirrels" are causing to our cemetery. Maybe whoever's in charge of this should take a drive through the cemetery and take a look at the daily destruction these animals are doing."
Meanwhile, the City of Rawlins Government addressed the problem in a Facebook post. It said it would be "increasing efforts to control the ground squirrels" at the cemetery.
Cemetery Has A Pest Problem
"Our priority is to create an environment where our loved ones' resting place is treated with respect. These animals have caused major damage to our cemetery," the post said. "Their burrows and tunnels create unstable ground, which then damages gravestones and irrigation. They are also very destructive to turf."
For one, they're increasing the number of T-trap bait stations to trap rodents like prairie dogs.
"Rozol will be placed in the stations this spring and again in late summer," the post added.
However, the issue had kicked off a public debate over cemeteries in the region and their pests.
Darin Edmonds, superintendent of the Campbell County cemetery district, told the Cowboy State Daily, "People get squirrely about anything digging underground where their loved ones are. Prairie dogs are a nuisance and their holes are unsightly, but it's one of those things that can happen in rural Wyoming."
Edmonds says it's no the only cemetery to have this issue.
"Prairie dogs probably do the most damage, visibly and physically, of any critter I've encountered," he added. "But in Wyoming, you're subject to the natural tendencies of wildlife."
Edmonds believes that the cemetery should poison the animals.
"Poisoning is probably the best remedy, fortunately or unfortunately," he said. "We went out to the extent of that environment, applied poison, and it seemed to work. You could try live trapping them, but the quickest, shortest and most effective remedy is to poison them."
