Season of the skunk: Northern Alberta city offers free capture services for smelly pests

A northern Alberta city has taken a unique approach to managing a distinctly odiferous animal.

The City of Cold Lake has hired a full-time skunk trapper and is offering free skunk removal services to residents. 

Mayor Craig Copeland said the program is all about keeping homes and businesses odour-free in the city of 15,000 people, 300 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.

“We’re a community that’s living sort of on the fringe of the bush,” Copeland said. “Skunks here can be a problem.”

Skunks thrive in urban environments. Their striped tails are a common sight in communities across Alberta. Although they are docile foragers who largely