The cute creature Sweden wants to wipe out

Sweden has a relatively small population of raccoon dogs - now probably fewer than 100, says Ahlen. He estimates there are up to 1,000 in Denmark and hundreds of thousands in Germany and Poland. In Finland the population is rising and in spring is approximately 250,000 - although about a million cubs are born each year, most die from starvation, hunting and road accidents. In Norway, there are "hopefully zero - we try to keep it that way". In France a few sightings and some road kills have been reported. The creatures could soon establish themselves in the wild both there and in the UK where escaped pets pose a potential problem, he says.

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