Anyone lost a raccoon? SPCA’s bid to find owner
IT was the unlikely bandit caught after a farmer set traps to find the carnivore devouring her chickens.
Now animal welfare chiefs are appealing for help in tracking down where the creature – a raccoon – came from.
The Mail told last week how chicken breeder Debbie Hewison suspected a fox was sneaking into the hen house after 14 of her birds were killed.
But the Scot could not believe her eyes when the raccoon was found caught in a humane trap at her coops on a farm in Coulter, Lanarkshire.
The Scottish SPCA is looking after the creature at its rescue and rehoming centre in Hamilton, Lanarkshire.
It revealed the animal had been spotted on CCTV earlier this year and believes it is a pet which has escaped from its owners.
Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn said: ‘We are appealing for information after one of our animal rescue officers was called out to a raccoon in the Libberton area.
‘It is illegal to release a non-indigenous species into the wild, so we believe it may have been a pet that has escaped.
‘If we are unable to identify the raccoon’s owner, we will find a specialist who will be able to provide the expert care that raccoons require.’
Senior animal rescue officer Stephanie Kirk said: ‘It is believed that the raccoon has been in the Libberton area for a while now, having first been spotted a few months ago on security camera footage. A week ago, a local farmer called a pest control specialist after strange tracks were found on the property and several chickens were killed.
‘The pest control specialist set a fox trap and contained the raccoon before calling us to collect it.
‘The raccoon is in good condition but we’re not sure where it came from. We’re hoping the public will be able to help us find out how this non-native animal came to be in Scotland.’
Anyone with any information about a raccoon in the Lanarkshire area is urged to call the Scottish SPCA animal helpline on 03000 999 999.