Flanders is escalating its fight against the racoon population amid concerns the invasive species could spread to the region.
Regional authorities have now approved an action plan, featuring specialised traps to stop the predators from repeating the takeover of neighbouring Wallonia.
The southern Belgian region currently harbours an estimated 70,000 raccoons. Experts consider this population too vast to eradicate entirely in the foreseeable future.
Flemish Environment Minister Jo Brouns (CD&V) wants Flanders to put a break on the animals while their northern numbers remain low.
To reduce the number of raccoons, Flanders will authorise "smart paw-enclosing traps", capturing the animals live. Such mechanisms allow wildlife officials to extract raccoons without accidentally ensnaring domestic pets or protected indigenous species.
Because the Brussels-Capital Region functions as a geographic enclave entirely surrounded by Flanders, northern containment strategies will likely directly impact the capital's ecological future.
Why are raccoons such a headache for Europe?
The mammal is not native to Europe, originating in North American. Their looks are deceiving: the animals aggressively deplete local biodiversity and empty the nests of native eagle owls and black storks, as well as consuming local amphibians and transmitting diseases and parasitic roundworms.
In Western Europe, the species lacks natural predators which could keep the population numbers of the raccoons stable.
Raccoons exhibit extreme adaptability to urban environments. They frequently infiltrate concrete landscapes by scavenging unsecured garbage bins, probing cat flaps and nesting inside residential attics.
The species originally infiltrated Europe via deliberate releases and captive escapes. Their territorial expansion accelerated significantly throughout the 2010s, leading to heavy concentrations across the southeast of Belgium and the forests of Saint-Hubert.
Walloon Environment Minister Céline Tellier (Ecolo) launched a containment plan last year, but widespread lethal measures face pushback due to public sympathy for the animals.
Germany shoots approximately 200,000 raccoons every year to manage the country's established population of the species.
The Flemish Environment Minister estimates that rapid, early intervention will restrict the annual Flemish cull to just a few dozen animals.
