People are being urged to be on the lookout for a raccoon dog that is currently on the loose in Wales.
The animal is thought to be in the Coelbren area of Powys, around five miles east of Ystradgynlais.
It is unknown how long the animal has been missing or where it escaped from.
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Seeing a raccoon dog in the wild in Wales is extremely rare. In the summer of 2020, one was spotted in the Pumsaint area of Carmarthenshire.
According to Natural Resources Wales (NRW), this was only the second such sighting of a raccoon dog in Wales and people were warned not to approach the “wild animal” as its behaviour is described as “unpredictable”. On that occasion, NRW took “swift action” following a request from the Welsh Government’s rural affairs minister, Lesley Griffiths, and the animal was captured and humanly destroyed.
People reacted furiously to the fact that the animal was killed, with NRW clarifying suggestions that it was shot and confirming that it had in fact been “put to sleep”.
According to the RSPCA, the dog - also known as a ‘tanuki’ - is “not suited to life as a pet in a domestic environment” because “they need a great deal of space and their needs simply cannot be met in a typical household”. The charity added: “They’re also extremely smelly as they use scent to communicate with one another.” The animal is regarded as an “invasive species” that is native to the forests of China, Japan, Korea, Siberia and Vietnam.
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While it is not illegal to keep a raccoon dog as a pet, the RSPCA “strongly discourages people” from doing so, and since February, 2019, it is actually illegal to sell the animal because they pose a risk to native species in Europe. It is also illegal to breed them.
The animal itself is a wild, fox-like creature. It is a member of the canine family, despite having a face more similar to that of a raccoon, and feeds on insects, rodents, amphibians, birds, fish, molluscs and carrion, as well as fruits, nuts and berries.
In 2019, the Mirror Online reported that a village in Nottinghamshire was “under siege” after two raccoon dogs had escaped from an enclosure. The local police said at the time that the dogs were “potentially dangerous”.
While the RSPCA does not describe them as such, it does make it clear that raccoon dogs are wild animals which have “complex needs”.
Regarding the current raccoon dog which is on the loose, an appeal has been made for any sightings to be reported.
A spokeswoman for NRW said: “We’re on the look out for an escaped raccoon dog in the Coelbren area of South Powys. You can report any sightings or give us more information about an escape on 0300 065 3000.”
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