In Berlin, the number of conflicts with invasive raccoons (Waschbären) is rising sharply, causing increasingly serious damage to urban infrastructure. The animals damage building insulation, cables, and disrupt the operations of facilities such as Charité University Hospital and combined heat and power plants. City authorities are receiving a growing number of complaints from public institutions and municipal companies, requiring new solutions.
Damage to Critical Infrastructure
Raccoons destroy thermal insulation, chew through cables, and disrupt the operations of hospitals, schools, and energy plants, generating repair costs.
Avalanche-like Increase in Complaints
Berlin authorities report a significant increase in official reports from institutions affected by the animals' activities, indicating an escalation of the problem.
Effective Population Control Methods
Unlike other species, effective trapping is used against raccoons, but the scale of the problem exceeds these measures.
Long History of Species Invasion
Raccoons, a non-native species in Europe, became established in Germany after escapes from farms and deliberate introduction decades ago.
The German capital is grappling with a serious ecological and infrastructural problem caused by the rapidly expanding raccoon population. These animals, perfectly adapted to urban conditions, are causing increasingly severe material damage. They damage building thermal insulation, chew through electrical wires and telecommunication cables, and disrupt the functioning of key institutions. Among those affected are Berlin's Charité University Hospital, where the presence of raccoons poses an additional challenge, schools, and municipal combined heat and power plants. setki — Hundreds of complaints annually from institutions The Berlin Senate reports an avalanche-like increase in official complaints filed by public and municipal entities, forcing authorities to seek new, more effective solutions. The problem is systemic and requires coordinated action by various city departments. The raccoon (Procyon lotor) is a species native to North America that is an invasive species in Central Europe. Its presence in Germany is the result of both escapes from fur farms in the 1930s and deliberate introduction – for example, in 1934, two pairs were released at Lake Edersee in Hesse to "enrich the native fauna." Since then, the species has spread throughout the country. According to the Senate of Berlin, unlike other invasive species such as American minks, relatively effective population control methods are applied to raccoons, mainly through trapping. Nevertheless, the scale of their occurrence and the damage they cause in dense urban development exceed the capacity of these measures. The animals are extremely agile, intelligent, and omnivorous, making them ideal colonizers of human settlements. Their ability to climb and penetrate even high parts of buildings makes securing facilities difficult. „Waschbären beschädigen Infrastruktur, etwa in der Charité oder in Schulen.” (Raccoons damage infrastructure, for example at the Charité or in schools.) — Actions against invasive species in Berlin: Raccoon (Waschbär): Trapping and removal from buildings → Intensification of trapping, search for new methods; American mink (Mink): No effective control program → No effective control program The problem is not new, but its intensity has clearly increased recently, as reflected in press reports. This requires not only ad hoc interventions but also the development of a long-term strategy for managing the population of this invasive species in the urban agglomeration, combining aspects of animal protection with the necessity of ensuring the safety and functionality of infrastructure.