Is the raccoon dog welcome in the Netherlands?
COHABITING WITH THE WILD 3/7. Originating from Asia, it was bred for its fur in Eastern Europe, before establishing itself in the wild in several Western European countries. Halfway between the raccoon and the badger, this small canine is proliferating in the Netherlands, without threatening either humans or domestic animals.
Let's clear up any ambiguity right away: "The raccoon dog is not a raccoon," even though it looks quite similar. This newcomer to the Netherlands "belongs, just like the fox, the wolf, the jackal, and the lapdog, to the canidae family," Trouw explains , while "the raccoon belongs to the family of small bears, the procyonidae."
The raccoon dog originally comes from China, Russia, Korea and Japan and was imported to Eastern Europe for its fur during the Soviet era, recalls the British newspaper The Guardian . Having escaped from breeding farms, it bred in the wild and gradually settled in Finland, Sweden, as well as Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Belgium.
The first individual sighted in the Netherlands dates back to 1981, reports the Dutch daily NRC , “but it was only at the beginning of this century that it really took up residence. It is found in all the natural areas and large bodies of water in the northwest of the country; last year, for the first time, an individual – dead – was found in a park in Amsterdam.”
Since 2019, confirms De Telegraaf , “we have observed a clear increase in the population.” But “fortunately, we cannot speak of an invasion,” continues Trouw in another
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