People react furiously after racoon dog was killed
PEOPLE have reacted furiously to the news that a raccoon dog loose in the Welsh countryside was killed after being captured.
They claim it should have been re-homed rather than killed, and one such re-homing sanctuary contacted by us has confirmed it has eight raccoon dogs with plenty of room for one more.
But the Welsh Government has defended the decision to kill the creature, saying it was in the best interests of the animal in the circumstances.
The animal, which is considered an “invasive species” that can be “harmful to wildlife”, was spotted roaming the countryside in the Pumsaint area of Carmarthenshire.
There had first been a confirmed sighting of the raccoon dog - which is a part of the canine family despite its raccoon-like appearance - on May 27.
It is unknown how long it had been in the wild prior to that date, but it was on the loose for around seven weeks after that confirmed sighting before it was trapped and killed earlier this week, following an operation involving Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and the Welsh Government.
NRW confirmed it was “put to sleep”, not shot, as some had feared.
The organisation confirmed it had stepped up efforts to capture the animal after a recent request from Environment Minister, Lesley Griffiths. It said it had acted in line with the Welsh Government, which was said to have a duty under EU legislation to employ “rapid measures to remove” the animal.
The Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order, which came into force in October, 2019, gives effect to the EU regulations mentioned above on the “prevention and management of the spread of invasive alien species”.
Despite NRW making it clear that the raccoon dog was, with the aid of a qualified vet and the Great Britain Non-Native Species Secretariat, destroyed “humanely”, people have reacted angrily and questioned why, having been caught, the raccoon dog needed to be killed.
One angry woman posted on social media: “Absolutely no reason to kill this animal. It was no danger to anyone unless you tried to pick it up and no more risk to the environment than a dog. It needed rescuing, not killing.”
Another said: “This is absolutely shocking - why the need to kill the poor animal?”, while one angry poster agreed by saying: “Why was it killed? Couldn’t it have been rehomed in a zoo or animal shelter?”
Others have pointed out that: “It could have had a disease; parasites that could infect native animals, so maybe it was the best thing for it.”
Another, who understood the reasoning behind putting the animal to sleep, said: “It would have been intensely unhappy in a confined area and would probably suffer. The law needs to be more severe with people having wild animals as pets.”
While it is not illegal to keep a raccoon dog as a pet, the RSPCA “strongly discourages people” from doing so, and since February, 2019, it is actually illegal to sell the animal and to breed them.
Many people questioned whether an animal attraction or sanctuary could have homed the raccoon dog.
One such enclosure is Ark Wildlife Park in Lincolnshire, an exotic animal sanctuary which is currently home to eight raccoon dogs - one of which it took ownership of last year after it was seen loose in a built-up area.
“It’s a massive shame that the raccoon dog, also known as a tanuki, was destroyed as he would have posed no threat to the public,” a spokesman for Ark Wildlife Park said.
“In fact, we had a similar situation last year with a tanuki that had either escaped or been abandoned by a previous owner. We were called in to find and capture him as he was loose on a housing estate, where he had been for some time without incident.
“We successfully captured him and he now lives happily here with our other raccoon dogs - we could have given the tanuki in Wales a loving home.”
The Welsh Government has defended the decision to destroy the raccoon dog, saying it had the ability to cause damage to our health and “the way we live”.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The raccoon dog is regarded as an Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) as it has the ability to spread parasites and disease and cause damage to the environment, the economy, our health and the way we live.
“There are strict legal restrictions on keeping, selling, rehoming, breeding and releasing raccoon dogs as they threaten our native wildlife.
“Raccoon dogs are wild animals and from a welfare point of view they range over large distances, live in groups and have complex needs and are therefore not suited to life in captivity.
“After careful consideration, humanely putting the raccoon dog to sleep was considered the most appropriate control option and in the best interest of this individual animal in these circumstances.”