AR-News: (Germany) Germans to kill non-native raccoons

[Snugglezzz at aol.com]

Germans to Cull Non-Native Masked Rodents 

BERLIN (UPI) -- Germany has decided to do battle against the immigrant population of masked, non-native rodents causing havoc around the country, The Sun reported from London. 

The culprits are raccoons, which were never native to Europe. Adolf Hitler's aide Hermann Goering had the animals imported from the United States in 1934 to "enrich the Reich's fauna," the newspaper said. 

Their population is estimated to be well above 1 million now, and Germans are learning that despite their cute appearance, raccoons can cause damage breaking into houses for food, toppling garbage cans and frightening people with their piercing mating noises. 

Part of the problem is the raccoons have no natural predators, although soon state officers will be putting out traps and hunting them down. 

Wildlife experts fear they will eventually spread throughout Europe.