They look cute and cuddly, but North American raccoons (procyon lotor) are an invasive species in Japan, and recent reports about the number of nuisance raccoons captured in Hokkaido indicate that the furry critters aren't going away any time soon.
According to numbers posted in the Yomiuri Shimbun, some 10,954 racoons were captured in the 2015 fiscal year in Hokkaido alone.
Hokkaido traces its current raccoon woes back to just 10 animals that were imported as pets by families in Eniwa City, Ishikari Subprefecture in 1979, presumably in response to the popularity of Nippon Animation's Rascal the Raccoon TV anime. The raccoons either escaped or were released into the wild, where they established breeding populations. Since raccoons give birth to litters of 4 - 7 cubs at a time and have no natural predators in the area, their numbers skyrocketed.
Left to their own devices, raccoons will eat practically anything, and Hokkaido farmers first reported significant crop loss to hungry raccoons beginning in 1993, resulting in the establishment of a capture program in 1999. Despite these efforts, as of 2016 there are populations of raccoons in 149 of Hokkaido's 179 municipalities, and the agriculture damage reached a peak in 2011 with a loss of 120 million yen (about $1.1 million US) worth of crops.
Truly, anime ruins everything.
Source: Yomiuri Online via Otakomu
Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.
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