Talking about raccoons as a pest problem with another individual, advice was given to place bowls of antifreeze out for them to consume. It would definitely kill them, but it’s an excruciatingly painful death. What karma accompanies the cruel extermination of pests? What would be the optimum divine approach to dealing with an invasion of pests?

It is not divine to kill, but there are times when self-preservation creates an imperative to act. What we would say concerning the issue of karma under such circumstances is that there is a range of possible options available in almost all cases. So to choose something for convenience that is especially horrific to the recipient when there is a more humane choice available, even for ultimate extermination, would be the lesser of evils and would offset the karmic consequences of killing life forms, by doing so in a humane way for self-preservation and without a reckless disregard of the feelings of the animal needing to be eliminated because it is hazardous to human habitation. Everything humans do is on record and, to the extent it has positive and negative consequences, will add to the karma generated individually by each person and their future will be determined by those karmic energies and the level of extremes the energies represent. This needs to be kept in mind always and can act as a wise disincentive to avoid causing unnecessary suffering. All will benefit from a gentler world.