Civic bosses in Germany have surrendered to an invasion of ‘Nazi’ raccoons that have taken over the city’s streets.
Town Hall leaders in Kassel, in the German state of Hesse, have confessed they have abandoned plans to exterminate the creatures after admitting that resistance is useless.
It is believed that raccoons were originally introduced to Germany from the USA by Hermann Goering, founder of the Gestapo, during the 1930s.
Goering believed they would make good sport for huntsmen in German forests and believed they could be the start of a new farmed fur industry.
But after the notoriously light-pawed creatures escaped during the collapse of Germany following Word War II, hoards of the bandit-masked raiders have spread over Europe.
Huge communities of the dumpster-diving scavengers have been found in Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy with the population said to be more than two million.
But one of the creatures’ strongholds in Kessel has finally admitted defeat.
City Public Order Official Heiko Lehmkuhl, 55, confessed: “Completely eradicating raccoons from urban areas is extremely difficult.
“Our goal can, therefore, only be to keep conflicts with the animals as low as possible.”
Instead of mass extermination, the city now gives citizens tips on how to protect themselves from the raccoons.
Lehmkuhl explained: “Since raccoons entering homes can cause significant damage and result in high costs, we recommend that residents make their homes truly ‘raccoon-proof.'”
New numbers from the German Hunting Association (DJV) show that raccoons are increasingly being hunted.
Figures of confirmed kills are up from 30,000 animals, nicknamed the ‘little bear’ in Germany, hunted in 2006, to 200,000 in 2023.
DJV President Helmut Dammann-Tamke, 63, told German media: “The little bear from North America is a real threat to the native wildlife because unlike the native fox, the raccoon is a good climber and swimmer, and therefore has a much wider range of prey.”
Wildlife experts say raccoons pose a serious threat to toads, frogs, newts and other endangered animals and reptiles.
Raccoons have been a plague across Germany for years.
In one case in 2018 a shocked Berlin crane operator called the police after he found a huge raccoon waiting for him and his operator’s booth more than 130 feet up in the air.
Another case, also in 2018, involved a woman who found a raccoon perched on top of her sitting room clock in Remscheid, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, after trashing her home.
And last year (2024), the police called out to a burglary discovered a raccoon ransacking a bedroom.
But some huntsmen have vowed to set up a resistance, killing the raccoons without civic help.
One, named only as Peter, who terminates 70 of the creatures per year, explained: “The only thing that helps is trap hunting.
“The raccoon is a gourmet and what it finds seasonally in nature, it doesn’t like.”
Peter, who uses cat food for bait, added: “Even better are gummy bears or Nutella bread.”
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Clive Goodman, Sub-Editor: Simona Kitanovska, Agency: Newsflash
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