Walloon Environment minister Céline Tellier has asked for a detailed control plan to be drawn up to curb the "alarming" proliferation of raccoons in the region, her office told Belga News Agency.
“The cute appearance” of raccoons “widely conveyed by the media” has made the population sympathetic to them, thus complicating “the taking of measures aimed at the destruction of individuals by the public authorities,” the office observed.
Although the animal is listed as an invasive species of concern within the EU, “no European country currently has an ambitious management strategy for this species, despite alarm bells ringing from people on the ground, including certain agents from the Walloon Nature and Forest department,” it noted.
The expansion of this carnivore native to North America has accelerated since the 2010s in Belgium. Today there are “particularly high densities of sightings in southern Wallonia,” according to the office of the environment minister. The rough estimate from the Walloon Public Service is between 60,000 and 70,000 raccoons.
“Since eradication is no longer a realistic objective, there is a case for regulating the species in order to limit its damage,” Tellier’s office argues.
Awareness-raising campaigns are planned to ensure that residents avoid attracting raccoons close to homes. The minister has also asked her department to draw up a detailed control plan and identify priority areas for intervention, taking into account the presence of endangered species.
Additionally, the Walloon government’s decree on invasive alien species will allow “operators to intervene in private homes in the event of a nuisance,” the office says. A consultation of the Walloon Animal Welfare Council has been requested in this regard.
