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Cartoon Raccoon triggers raccoon crisis in Japan
#1
In the late 1970s a cartoon was released in Japan based on the book by Sterling North about Rascal the raccoon. It was delightful book about an orphaned raccoon and it made a delightful cartoon. Soon Japan began importing raccoons as pets.  At one point it was 1,500 raccoons a month. 
If any of you read the book you know how this is going to end. Rascal has to be released to the wild. He is unmanageable as a pet. Baby raccoons are adorable, adult raccoons not so much. They are clever and destructive and more than most home can cope with.
Japanese families found out the hard way and they started turning their raccoons loose. Raccoons are not native to Japan, but they are very clever and very adaptive. They have survived and thrived and do a great  deal of damage. They are doing massive amounts of damage to agriculture and even to buildings.

https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animal...sion-japan

Once again we have created a crisis by introducing a species to an area. No thought was given to the consequences of turning raccoons loose. A cull is a cruel alternative and it is not very popular with people in general. 

Capturing all the raccoons and removing them is probably not possible. What would they do with them if they did capture them.
Leaving them to multiply and destroy things is not a good choice. I wonder if the trap neuter release program that works for stray cats will work for raccoons. 
It would have helped if people had read the book first. The book makes it clear that Rascal cannot be a pet after her grows up. He is just too much trouble.
[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]
Catherine

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