Raccoons in Lower Saxony: Hunting starts due to overpopulation and damage!

Raccoons in Lower Saxony: Hunting starts due to overpopulation and damage!

From July 16, 2025, adult raccoons can be hunted again in Lower Saxony. This step has become necessary because the raccoon population has grown significantly in recent years and is causing considerable damage, as the Lower Saxony news portal NDR reports. The Northeim region in particular is struggling with a high density of these animals. In the 2023/2024 hunting year alone, 2,354 raccoons were shot there.

Residents particularly complain about damage to their homes, such as destroyed ponds, damaged attics and overturned garbage cans. These animals also pose a threat to protected species by, among other things, eating young birds. Raccoons are considered an invasive species in Lower Saxony, and the Federal Nature Conservation Act requires measures to contain them.

The frame and the numbers

According to pirsch.de, raccoons were shot by hunters more than 25,000 times in 2023. This shows an increase of 9.4% compared to the previous year. There was also an increase in nutrias, which are widespread in Lower Saxony - 44,961 animals were shot, which corresponds to an increase of 29.4%.

The state hunting report from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Agriculture highlights that the challenges posed by invasive species such as raccoons and nutrias are increasing. The hunting community sees the hunting of these species as necessary in order to minimize infrastructural damage and conflicts with the population.

Special challenges and measures

The raccoons have settled primarily in urban and suburban areas, while the nutrias, originally from South America, occur primarily in moist meadows. Flood conditions have helped nutrias spread even further, with around 150 more animals being killed in the Celle region in recent years. This means that the hunters are also required to reduce the corresponding risks. If they dig their burrows in dikes, this significantly increases the risk of flooding.

While Lower Saxony has a closed season for raccoons from April 1st to July 15th, other federal states such as Brandenburg, Bavaria and Saxony have already lifted these restrictions. Lower Saxony is currently not planning any expansion of the hunting season for raccoons. A task force has now been set up in the Northeim district to make the hunting of raccoons even more targeted.

The challenges posed by invasive species, which have a direct impact on the quality of living and nature, are the focus of hunters. Not only hunting measures are required, but also effective prevention measures to minimize damage, such as stabilizing dikes and protecting waste containers. All actors are required to deal with the situation sustainably.