Many in Kassel have embraced the animal but the EU classes it as an invasive species and ecologists are divided about what to do next
In Kassel, everyone has a story about raccoons. Some struggle with a family of them that moved into their roof and simply will not leave. Others recount how a picnic in the park turned into an ambush as gangs of the black and white animals, known in Germany as Waschbären, raided the food. Almost everyone seems to have a neighbour who feeds them, to the annoyance of the entire street.
“We are the raccoon city. They are everywhere,” says Lars, a Kassel resident, as he tends his allotment by Karlsaue park in the fading light.
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