Fight to save autism kids' favourite Flash the raccoon as EU ban hands him a death sentence

[AGXStarseed]

(Not written by me)

THE cute pet who helps so many autistic kids, is under threat by a crazy Euro rule change that could mean he is destroyed.

Sean Carr is fighting to save Flash the raccoon.


A RACCOON who helps children with autism might have to be put to sleep under new European rules .

Flash the raccoon is a therapy animal used by a firm who work with children with additional needs, autism and ADHD.

But the critter’s life is hanging in the balance as a result of the European Commission’s alien invasive species regulations.

Their aim is to ban certain animals and plants from parts of Europe where they are not native.

Flash is the star attraction among a menagerie that kids can touch, hold and learn about.

Alyn Smith MEP has joined the bid to save Flash.


Livingston firm Party Animals Encounters’ owner Sean Carr appealed for the public’s help to fight the rules.

He said: “I know raccoons are wild animals but I’ve raised Flash from when he was a baby as he was captive bred within the UK.

“I was up more times bottle-feeding him than with my son.

“He’s used to human contact and thrives on it. He’s a kind wee soul with a wonderful personality. We work with a lot of severely autistic children and kids with ADHD , who respond very well to Flash and look forward to him visiting on a weekly basis.

“These children will be crushed when they get told he can’t come and help with their speech therapy and social skills.”

Flash’s uncle Oreo was the model for Rocket Raccoon in sci-fi blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy . But celebrity links might not save him – and countless other animals across Scotland.

Famous uncle: Oreo plays Rocket Raccoon in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.


The new rules are aimed at protecting native biodiversity and ecosystems by preventing, detecting, managing and eradicating foreign species.

MEP Alyn Smith has taken up the fight. The SNP man is vice-president of the Scottish SPCA .

He said: “Constituents have been getting in touch to plead for Flash, many sharing first-hand experiences of how they or their loved ones have benefited from these therapy sessions.

“The raccoon can be an environmental risk in the wild but Flash isn’t in the wild and we’ve seen his value in therapy sessions for children with special needs.

“This legislation is necessary and I support it in principle but I have a responsibility to make sure it is properly drafted.

“I’ll be voting to send this list back to the drawing board until it is up to scratch.”



SOURCE: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/fight-save-autism-kids-favourite-7031994

 

[ancusmitis]

“The raccoon can be an environmental risk in the wild but Flash isn’t in the wild and we’ve seen his value in therapy sessions for children with special needs.

Unfortunately, animals that become invasive species are not, by and large, released on purpose but escape. This is what happened with invasive plants like Kudzu and invasive snakes like the pythons in Florida. The notion is hardly a crazy one. You drive through areas in the southeast and you see places where there is literally nothing growing but kudzu. Snakes in Florida are a major threat to endangered local wildlife and even on occasion have been known to eat small human children. A few rare exceptions don't invalidate the principal.

 

[unsurewhattoname]

The argument is that raccoon aren't native? Yet people are allowed exotic fish, reptiles, and birds as pets - those aren't native. Is there a ban on tropical fish? Snakes? Parrots? No. Then why the raccoon?

 

[Ste11aeres]

I understand the thing about protecting the ecosystem from non-native species. But seriously, that shouldn't mean killing people's beloved pets. Make it illegal for people to get non-native pets, sure, but don't kill the ones that they already have.

The UK's ghastly inhumane Dangerous Dogs Act (for those who don't know, it mandates the killing of dogs based on breed, not based on behavior) at least spared the lives of the dogs which people already had. It forbade the import or continued breeding of such breeds-but didn't kill the ones which were people's pets. And even now, while any dog of such breed which is currently alive was born after the law was passed has an illegal existence, and will likely be killed, it is possible to get a legal exemption for an individual pet.

 

[AspiePie]

I understand the thing about protecting the ecosystem from non-native species. But seriously, that shouldn't mean killing people's beloved pets. Make it illegal for people to get non-native pets, sure, but don't kill the ones that they already have.

The UK's ghastly inhumane Dangerous Dogs Act (for those who don't know, it mandates the killing of dogs based on breed, not based on behavior) at least spared the lives of the dogs which people already had. It forbade the import or continued breeding of such breeds-but didn't kill the ones which were people's pets. And even now, while any dog of such breed which is currently alive was born after the law was passed has an illegal existence, and will likely be killed, it is possible to get a legal exemption for an individual pet.

Poor Dogs..

 

[Ste11aeres]

Unfortunately, animals that become invasive species are not, by and large, released on purpose but escape. This is what happened with invasive plants like Kudzu and invasive snakes like the pythons in Florida. The notion is hardly a crazy one. You drive through areas in the southeast and you see places where there is literally nothing growing but kudzu. Snakes in Florida are a major threat to endangered local wildlife and even on occasion have been known to eat small human children. A few rare exceptions don't invalidate the principal.

What I heard happened with raccoons was that people would purposely let them loose. They would get them as pets, and before long they would realize that (in general) raccoons make terrible pets, and the owners just couldn't handle them anymore. So they would just let them loose.

 

[ancusmitis]

What I heard happened with raccoons was that people would purposely let them loose. They would get them as pets, and before long they would realize that (in general) raccoons make terrible pets, and the owners just couldn't handle them anymore. So they would just let them loose.

I heard they were deliberately released for the fur trade, but what you said probably happens all the time. It even happens with dogs. And there are many places with larger and smaller populations of feral dogs. Most animals released in this way die of loneliness and starvation, but some live and reproduce. It's hard to say which outcome is worse. The reasons so many die are the same reasons that survivors are so destructive. They have some sort of competitive advantage that has been honed in a place where the threats are totally different. If they survive, it's because they are away from whatever force used to keep their population in balance. You won't get many animals that just snap their fingers and integrate into the local environs in any sort of healthy way.

 

[Häxan]

If the raccoon was at risk to be killed why then wouldn't he make plans with a us sanctuary to ship him there to then live out the rest of his life? They do ship lions and other animals internationally to sanctuaries why would a raccoons life be any less significant?!

 

[Ste11aeres]

If the raccoon was at risk to be killed why then wouldn't he make plans with a us sanctuary to ship him there to then live out the rest of his life? They do ship lions and other animals internationally to sanctuaries why would a raccoons life be any less significant?!

Maybe because of this:

“He’s used to human contact and thrives on it. He’s a kind wee soul with a wonderful personality. We work with a lot of severely autistic children and kids with ADHD , who respond very well to Flash and look forward to him visiting on a weekly basis.
“These children will be crushed when they get told he can’t come and help with their speech therapy and social skills.”

 

[AspiePie]

Why can't they just have it neutered?

 

[unsurewhattoname]

Why can't they just have it neutered?

Very good point. If they're worried about it escaping and breeding with raccoons (if it manages to even find another), then that would solve that.

 

[Naturalist]

Unfortunately, animals that become invasive species are not, by and large, released on purpose but escape. This is what happened with invasive plants like Kudzu and invasive snakes like the pythons in Florida. The notion is hardly a crazy one. You drive through areas in the southeast and you see places where there is literally nothing growing but kudzu. Snakes in Florida are a major threat to endangered local wildlife and even on occasion have been known to eat small human children. A few rare exceptions don't invalidate the principal.

That said, how many people in the UK are keeping pet raccoons? Are they in danger of being a breeding population if escaped, or would an escaped raccoon be a one-off? More information is necessary.

I do think it is important for individuals to make responsible choices about their pets, and not choose species which are alien and possibly problematic. Raccoons are particularly intelligent and adaptable in places like the UK, where the environment is similar to the US where they are indigenous, and if they did form a population in the UK could pose a serious threat to native species by outcompeting for food sources, habitat etc.

Perhaps the raccoon could become resident at a local zoo, and continue its charity mission there?

 

[unsurewhattoname]

Raccoons are particularly intelligent and adaptable in places like the UK, where the environment is similar to the US

So here is the raccoon population in North America:

And here's a map of places with our climate:

If they don't even live there on the mainland, how well can we realistically expect them to do in the UK?

 

[Naturalist]

So here is the raccoon population in North America:

And here's a map of places with our climate:

If they don't even live there on the mainland, how well can we realistically expect them to do in the UK?

I'm confused by your two maps. Maybe it is because the grey area on one map doesn't necessarily correlate to the grey on the other. But I can assert that grey squirrels, which occupy the same habitat as raccoons in the Eastern US, proliferated so successfully when introduced into Great Britain (as pets!) that they have quite overtaken the native red squirrel population, posing a serious threat to red squirrels as they compete for habitat and resources, as well as mates (hybrid squirrels are quite common). This is why the UK is likely wary of non-native species from the US, which could flourish in the UK, as opposed to a non-native tropical species which, if escaped, might freeze in the British winters, and thus fail to establish a permanent population.

 

[unsurewhattoname]

Look at the green on the second map, not the grey.

Edit: (excuse my handwriting, I'm on my phone and the image editing I have on here doesn't have text)

So the raccoons don't live in places that share our climate is my point. Why don't they live there? Can they live there? If they can't, then they probably wouldn't do good in the UK.

 

[Naturalist]

Look at the green on the second map, not the grey.

Thanks, I wondered why it looked backwards!

Climate is only one consideration though, because they are widespread in the US which doesn't have one climate coast to coast. Raccoons are so successful in part because unlike some species, they are adaptable to multiple climates and environmental conditions. But the fact that there are similarities in climate and environment between parts of the US and Great Britain probably makes them a species of particular concern, because they could flourish there if they could find a mate...

 

[Ste11aeres]

So here is the raccoon population in North America:

And here's a map of places with our climate:

If they don't even live there on the mainland, how well can we realistically expect them to do in the UK?

Umm...based on a documentary about raccoons, they've been flourishing in Mainland Europe.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/germany-overrun-by-raccoon-invasion-a-847847.html
Or did I not understand your post?

 

[unsurewhattoname]

Thanks, I wondered why it looked backwards!

Climate is only one consideration though, because they are widespread in the US which doesn't have one climate coast to coast. Raccoons are so successful in part because unlike some species, they are adaptable to multiple climates and environmental conditions. But the fact that there are similarities in climate and environment between parts of the US and Great Britain probably makes them a species of particular concern, because they could flourish there if they could find a mate...

The only similar climate North America shares to the UK is in an area where there's no raccoons. So my point is there's no evidence they would be able to adapt.

 

[unsurewhattoname]

Umm...based on a documentary about raccoons, they've been flourishing in Mainland Europe.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/germany-overrun-by-raccoon-invasion-a-847847.html
Or did I not understand your post?

Germany has a different climate to the UK.

 

[Ste11aeres]

The only similar climate North America shares to the UK is in an area where there's no raccoons. So my point is there's no evidence they would be able to adapt.

The map of "places with a climate like ours" had some small green spots in the USA in part of the raccoon range.

What specific elements of the UK climate do you think they would be unable to adapt to?