2023-08-31 14:29:00
“In a few decades, the raccoon invaded the south of the province of Luxembourg and for a few years, we find them everywhere in Wallonia. Until recently, we saw one or the other but we did not know the “scale of populations and the extension of its territory. At the time of the epidemic of African swine fever in Gaume, traps were set and thousands of raccoons were caught, which surprised everyone”, explains Benoit Petit, president of the Royal Saint-Hubert Club, an association of hunters.
According to the Public Service of Wallonia, the region has between 50 and 100,000 people. The species is considered invasive.
“The raccoon attacks poultry and nests of birds, vandalizes garbage cans, loots pantry, settles in attics and generates noise at night. It is also a carrier of diseases that it can transmit to humans and domestic animals”, can we read on the website of the Walloon administration.
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Not very shy, the animal does not hesitate to visit gardens and homes. “He lifts the lids of the trash cans, opens the doors. But you must avoid coming into contact with him at all costs because he carries bacteria dangerous to humans”, specifies Nicolas Yernaux, spokesperson for the SPW. Wallonia.
Due to its status as an invasive alien species, the raccoon can be hunted. “People who find them in their garden can place wild animal traps and ask hunters to kill the trapped animals”, explains Nicolas Yernaux.
“We don’t do this lightly,” says Benoit Petit. “The best way to eliminate them is trapping. It’s relatively easy. We bait them with fruit and they stay in the cage before being euthanized,” he says.
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