More and more sightings of racoons are being reported in Flemish Brabant Province but also in the rest of Flanders according to the nature centre in Opglabbeek. Just recently, in Testelt near Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, a racoon near a chicken coop was filmed with a night camera.
Quite a few racoons are already living in the wild in Wallonia, and there are now also more and more sightings in Flanders, Frederik Thoelen of the Opglabbeek shelter observes. "Ten years ago we got occasional reports, but they often concerned escaped animals from people who kept racoons illegally as pets. But now many more sightings are being reported, and these are racoons born in the wild from animals that escaped or were released in the past."
How many racoons are now roaming Flanders is not clear. "It won't be an enormous number, otherwise we would have been getting even more reports. We caught eight racoons already this year, which is a lot more than other years. Most reports come from the Voer District in eastern Limburg, but we are getting reports from all over Flanders," says Frederik.
Basically, racoons are not dangerous to humans, though of course you shouldn't corner them. "Of course, they can be annoying because they often go snooping around in rubbish bins or take up residence in attics and that can cause a nuisance. They can be pernicious to native animals. There are reports of racoons raiding nests of black storks, a lot of nest boxes put up for tawny owls have also been taken over by racoons."
Invasive species
That is why the racoon is on the list of invasive alien species. "That means they can no longer be kept as pets. Zoos can only keep these animals if they take special measures, the racoons have to be castrated or sterilised and should not be allowed to escape. Europe is very cautious about allowing racoons on European territory," says Frederik Thoelen.
Racoons are hunted in most European countries, including Wallonia. But for the time being that is not yet the case in Flanders. "The nature centre already has 20 years of experience catching and rehoming racoons in zoos, as long as we have the space and possibilities, we are going to keep doing that. But it might stop at some point, if the numbers get too big. That is why we are taking action and setting traps in places where racoons are regularly spotted. In this way, we hope to slow down and contain population growth," says Frederik.