4,000 raccoons to be exterminated

YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) The Kanagawa Prefectural Government has mapped out a plan to kill the entire raccoon population in the prefecture in the next five years as the animals cause severe damage to agriculture, prefectural officials said Saturday.

It is believed about 4,000 raccoons live in the prefecture.

The plan is in line with the law to prevent damage from alien species, but some private citizens and experts are against it in terms of animal protection and the questionable effect.

The Environment Ministry has approved of similar plans in 13 local governments including Hokkaido.

The number of raccoons, most of which were originally pets, caught in Kanagawa surged to about 1,000 in fiscal 2005, compared with four in fiscal 1995, the officials said.