Mårhund - Bad news from Russia.

[Marko]

Looks like a cross between a Raccoon and a Wolverine here in the States. Makes for a Nasty animal. My Wheatens would like to find one of them.

[Scotsgun]

No doubt some idiot will bring them over, find a reason to set them wild and they'll be just as many idiots who'll want to cuddle them and slap them with the Disney brush treatment.

The local fishing club sets out mink traps and i'll regularly go down if called and shoot the mink caught. God awful things they are that will kill everything and anything that is unfortunate enough to live in its territory.

So this autumn i was down on the riverbank with the 22, a couple of dogs and a guy from the fishing club. I'm just about to shoot a mink when a numpty in anorak and bobble hat launches herself through the hedge and starts screaming about the 'poor wee animal,' how we're murdering b****** and how could we sleep at night? A mink, a poor wee animal - really?

[ovenpaa]

Mink are evil vicious things that kill for the sake of it. I walked up a footpath in Derbyshire one day, every 10-15 feet was a freshly killed duckling, eventually I came across the mother, a Muscovy duck with her wings shielding the last duckling. I cannot think of anything other than a Mink that would do such a thing on a river bank.

You are quite right about the Mårhund, I am surprised it is not in the pet shops already....

[Scotsgun]

My large male Chesapeake has killed a couple of mink. He grabs them by the neck and breaks their backs before crushing the skulls. I doubt i'd let him near one of those buggers though. 19kg of fast, agile and viscious killing machine is more than a match for any dog.

I once knew an idiot who belonged to a stalking syndicate i was in (fortunately he was kicked out shortly afterwards) who let his terrier corner a Scottish Wildcat whilst stalking up in the forests. What a mess it made of that dog.

[ovenpaa]

There is a growing market for the spaniel-sized raccoon dogs, which sell on the internet for more than £250. However, the “bandit” face markings and glossy fur coat disguise a difficult nature that can lead to owners discarding their exotic new pets. The RSPCA has already picked up five runaway raccoon dogs, two in Wales and three in Dartford, Kent, and there are fears more will be let loose.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/45 ... -devil-dog

[Blu]

Why are they calling it a dog? It's not even close to any canine.

Blu

[shugie]

Aka "racoon dog" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon_dog

[snayperskaya]

The Kalashnikov of the animal world Comrades

[ovenpaa]

The problem is they are here and in the wild and I very much doubt the RSPCA are catching them all. They are known for large litters and an ability to catch and eat a lot of things with probably no true predetaors over here other than man.

[meles meles]

Hmm, we can feel a diplomatic initiative coming on. We could do with an ally like that in the Monochrome Alliance...