The raccoon dog: cute, wild and a terrible idea for a pet

The cuddly-looking feral creature has been increasingly seen in the UK but they could cause havoc with native wildlife - and naive pet ownersAre you an insomniac show-off, who has dense undergrowth and a pond in your garden? Are you keen to wipe out all the local toads and frogs, and fairly relaxed about having hookworm, flatworm or fatal fox tapeworm? If so, then the raccoon dog is the pet for you. And you may be able to buy one at an animal market in Clitheroe, Lancashire, for ?60.The RSPCA would prefer that you didn't, however: raccoon dogs are wild animals, one of the earliest forms of dog, and related to foxes and wolves (although no relation to actual raccoons, despite visual similarities) - they often go into a sort of torpor in winter, are mainly nocturnal and are certainly not happy in market cages or houses. So people who keep them as pets tend to get sick of them. This can lead to raccoon dogs being released into the countryside, where they multiply rapidly, with disastrous consequences for local wildlife. Continue reading...