London, Europe Brief News – The dangerous roccoon dog has mysteriously appeared in Wales and previously terrorised locals in Nottinghamshire.
Local authorities have warned people of Wales not to approach the “unpredictable” animal if they come across it.
The animal escaped its home nearly a month ago and has been missing since.
Locals have recently spotted it in the Coelbren, Powys roaming the wild.
Natural Resources Wales said: “We have taken swift action to capture a racoon dog in Carmarthenshire, following a recent request from the Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths.
It is unclear where this particular raccoon dog came from or how it came to be in the Carmarthenshire countryside. But people have been known to keep the animal as a pet despite the RSPCA “strongly advising” against it.
Known for having a similar resemblance to a racoon, the wild animal which is indigenous to East Asia is not actually related to a raccoon but is part of the canine family and is about as big as a medium-sized dog.
They could bite if they feel threatened by approaching humans.
In 2019, a village in Nottinghamshire was “under siege” after two “absolutely mad” raccoon dogs had escaped from an enclosure.
The local police said at the time that the dogs were “potentially dangerous”. Villagers spent two hours chasing off the snarling and hissing creatures after they heard a “blood curdling scream”.
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.
