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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Tokyo battles surge of destructive raccoons that went from pet to pest

four raccoons
North American raccoons were once popular as pets in Tokyo, Japan, but are now a pest after escaping and proliferating in the wild. Photograph: EEI_Tony/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Having won the battle to tackle Tokyo’s population of giant, ravenous crows, the city’s authorities are now embroiled in an even tougher campaign: to rein in another animal menace, the North American raccoon.

The number of raccoons caught in the capital every year has increased fivefold over the past decade, according to media reports, amid concern about the damage the animals are inflicting on the local ecosystem.

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