The racoon dog looks like the love child of a racoon and a fox. It’s cute, fluffy and exotic and for just £60 you could bring one home. But don’t be fooled, it's adorable face hides a terrible secret. The canine is highly invasive and carries parasites that could make you sick.
The dog, originally found in Asia, was brought to parts of Europe nearly a century ago to be hunted for their fur. But they quickly established a stronghold and have wreaked havoc on the local wildlife. In fact, in Finland more than one million of cubs are born each year, in Sweden they have grown so numerous that they have started to attempt to control the population before native amphibians and birds - animals that usually serve as racoon dog prey - are reduced to extinction.
Aside from the threat it poses to the UK’s wildlife, it is also just plain cruel to buy one as a pet. They are mostly nocturnal and don’t do well in homes.
Even though they have recently been listed as invasive species by the government it is still currently perfectly legal to own one. The government is expected to prohibit their sale in a few years but until then, markets can continue to sell them and unwitting animal lovers will continue to buy them. Then when they get bored and release them into the wild they will reproduce and cause a real ecological disaster. It would also provoke the government to take lethal measures. Banning the sale now could avoid a cull later.
Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen. Sign the petition and ask the government to ban the sale of raccoon dogs today, before it’s too late.
