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In the final decade the variety of raccoons caught in Tokyo elevated fourfold. In 2012, in keeping with metropolis administration information, 259 have been captured: in 2022 1,282. That’s an issue as a result of these animals are an invasive alien species that may do loads of harm, and trapping information is believed to point that the entire variety of raccoons in circulation has additionally grown – not that trapping operations have merely turn into more practical.
It was estimated that within the Japanese countryside in 2022, raccoons precipitated 450 million yen of harm to crops, the equal of two.7 million euros. According to some studies, in addition they seem to have hunted and killed endangered salamanders.
Raccoons are native to North America, however in latest many years they’ve additionally unfold to city areas in different nations all over the world the place that they had been introduced as pets or as points of interest in personal zoos. They are animals with nice capacity to adapt to new environments and are fast to breed which is why they do effectively in cities, the place they eat from pet bowls and rubbish bins and do varied harm. In some circumstances they turn into aggressive with folks and may unfold illnesses.
Raccoons additionally unfold unintentionally in Japan after many individuals received them as pets, maybe influenced from the favored 1977 animated tv collection Rascal, my bear good friend. Japan’s Environment Ministry believes the nation’s present raccoon populations are the results of escaped or deserted pet raccoons. In Tokyo they’re primarily current within the hilly areas of the western a part of the metropolitan space – which total has virtually 14 million human inhabitants. Raccoons have lengthy been included within the record of 156 invasive alien species current in Japan.
In many areas of Japan there are plans to seize and kill raccoons, in Tokyo particularly since 2013. In Ome Municipality, a metropolis that’s a part of the Tokyo city space, residents can use traps to seize them; in Fuchu, nonetheless, anybody who suffers harm to crops is invited to report it to the authorities. So far, nonetheless, these initiatives haven’t stopped the event of raccoon populations, the precise extent of which isn’t recognized.
Since 2016, raccoons have additionally been on the record of invasive alien species whose unfold European Union member nations should attempt to keep away from for ecological in addition to well being causes. In Europe there are raccoon populations in at the least 16 nations and the most important group is present in Germany. Italy is likely one of the nations the place they’re current: there’s a inhabitants between Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany. Since 1996 they’ve been thought of a species that may “represent a hazard to public well being and security” in our nation and since then their detention has been prohibited until there’s a particular authorization.