Raccoon Dog Sighted for First Time in Luxembourg

Luxembourg's Nature and Forest Agency has reported the first sighting of a racoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) in Luxembourg.

On Wednesday 3 February 2021, a raccoon dog was officially detected in Luxembourg for the first time, in the Bettembourg area.

The raccoon dog is a small canine (weighing 3-7 kg) that originally came from East Asia. Between 1929 and 1955, around 9,000 raccoon dogs were released for hunting in the European part of Russia and Ukraine. From there, the species spread rapidly to the west. It can be assumed that the raccoon dog has been sporadic in Luxembourg for a long time but since the species is very discreet, it is often not detected for a long time. The Nature and Forest Agency has received reports of raccoon dogs several times in recent years, but most of them could not be verified. In the few cases where there were photos or even an animal having been run over, they always turned out to be badgers or raccoons - the latter looking very similar to the raccoon dog at first glance.

Since the raccoon dog did not come to Europe naturally and negative effects on native biodiversity are feared, the European Commission in Brussels put it on the list of invasive alien species of Union concern. EU member states are thus required to prevent the settlement of these species as much as possible. In Luxembourg, according to the 2011 hunting act, the raccoon dog can be hunted all year round - with the exception of the six-week hunting break from 1 March to 15 April.