Uutiset - News

Supijahtia // Raccoon dog hunting

Supikoira (Nyctereutes procyonoides) on koko EU:n alueella haitallinen vieraslaji, joka kaikkiruokaisena syö myös maassa pesivien lintujen poikasia ja munia, joskus aikuisiakin yksilöitä. Se voi kantaa kapia, rabiesta, eikonokokkoosia ja trikinelloosia - ja levittää niitä kettuihin ja koiriinkin. 

Siispä supijahtiin. Tiedossa oli muutama mahdollinen paikka, haettiin jälkiä, mutta ei pesää. Kunnes sitten löytyi iso kivi, jonne vei supikoiran jälkiä ja laitettiin sitten mäyräkoira töihin. Ja "Simo" olikin ihan loistava luolakoira, se meni samantien töihin, eikä aikaakaan, kun alkoi haukku. 

Supikoira kävi luolan sisäänkäynnin suulla aika pian, mutta tilanne on nopea - ja kun tuota koiran väritystä vertaa supikoiraan, niin onhan siinä yhtäläisyyttä! Joten en uskaltanut vetää heti, joten se tilaisuus sitten meni - enkä toista saanut. Kaksi supia oli haukussa ja ne oli lopulta kaivettava esiin. Kaksi haitallista vieraslajiyksilöä pois pelistä. Hyvä Simo ja miehet lapion varressa!

The raccoon dog is an invasive species, and may carry nasty deceases (rabies, mange..) that can be transmitted to foxes and even dogs, not forgetting that they are opportunistic hunters and will eat ground-nesting birds and their offspring, especially in the archipelago. So far the raccoon dog is not that common up North, and there have been EU-funded projects to try and stop them from spreading to the vulnerable areas of the North.

So we were invited to join a really good dachshund for raccoon dog hunt. We knew a couple of potential nests, so went to see if there were any signs of life. The first two sites were empty, but the third location had fresh tracks. So we got a really good dachshund and let him off the leash. And in no time he was barking underground! I had my shotgun and was guarding on of the entrances to the nest. I even saw a raccoon dog, but he quickly turned around and disappeared back into their cave.

Eventually the dog kept a raccoon dog pair in place and none of them moved. So the only option is to start digging, and after about an hour´s work digging the frozen dirt we finally got the raccoon dogs and terminated their breeding plans, and Simo, who was safe and sound, but super excited. He did a great job and I had a really interesting day!

A few weeks back i even participated in a test, where a dachshund was trying to earn hunter title, but unfortunately he could not keep the raccoon dog in place, nor did flush it out, so the dachshund did not achieve the title.

I know that this type of hunting is not accepted by some people, but i think it is really important work to try and protect our indigenous species and I applaud the work by the hunters whowork tirelessly to control the raccoon dog populations.