Cute but not cuddly, the trendy fox-like pet putting British wildlife at risk
THEIR cute and cuddly appearance may have gained them a legion of fans on social media, but the RSPCA has now called for the sale of tanukis – also known as raccoon dogs – to be banned.
The charity has confirmed that the creatures, which are native to Japan, Siberia and China, have already escaped into the wild and are posing a threat to British wildlife. And there are fears that the high level of parasites harboured by tanukis could infect humans, with potentially lethal results.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment said that the threat from media. In one case, in 2015, a Japanese owner rescued an abandoned tanuki and chronicled his efforts to care for the animal, named Tanu, on Twitter.
His photographs of Tanu curled up in front of a fire had soon attracted 10,000 followers. British owners have spoken of taking their tanukis for walks on a lead, with many regarding them as a breed of dog which can be domesticated. They can be bought online for as little as £150.
In Sweden tanukis are already regarded as pests to be eradicated because of the threat they pose to wildlife, particularly amphibians and ground-nesting birds.
Around 9,000 of the creatures were released by biologists 80 years ago into western parts of the former Soviet Union to be hunted for their fur. They spread across Finland and Scandinavia, and Sweden has set up a hunting programme to cull them.
The RSPCA fears that if something is not done now to tackle the problem Britain may find itself in facing a similar crisis.
Dr Clubb said: “They do compete with natural species such as other predators or large mammals such as other dogs, badgers or foxes. They compete for the same food sources or den sites. They also pose a disease risk, they could introduce rabies and they can carry some parasite species. They are seen as a threat to the natural species that are there.”
Among the parasites tanukis are known to carry is the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis, which can be fatal if untreated in humans.