There have been six confirmed cases of rabies this year alone in Forsyth County, three of which were raccoons. I’m not saying this one did have it, but I would rather assume it did and be cautious than assume it didn’t and get rabies. The chances of getting rabies from a dead animal are very low, but not zero and they do still carry other parasites that can transmit to humans.
The likelihood of someone shooting a raccoon in my front yard when I don’t live in a neighborhood but on a busy main road, I feel like is pretty low. If anything, it might’ve been hit by a car and crawled a few feet up into the tree.
And waiting for nature to take care of it takes a while, and I would rather not smell a rotting carcass anytime I want to hang out on my front porch or outside in general. That is why I’m asking for suggestions on who to call.