Cute, but it’s wrong to regard it as a pet, says Virginia Blackburn
LIKE so many of my fellow Brits I am an absolute sucker when it comes to animals.
A tanuki or the raccoon dog
I can watch tragic films quite dispassionately until the dog lies forlornly at its master’s grave at which point I’m in floods.
When I go away, there is no one I miss as much as my cat. I hate hunting and think that people who are cruel to the beasts of the field should be locked up for life.
But like so many people I am guilty of seeing them as cuties rather than flesh and blood animals, which in some cases are dangerous and can cause terrible problems if treated as domestic animals.
And so it is with the tanuki, aka the raccoon dog.
Tanukis, which originate in the Far East, have become very popular pets since appearing on social media, with one Japanese owner chronicling his rescue pet Tanu.
Tanu was pictured sleeping in front of a fi re and generally looking adorable and is probably single-handedly responsible for their huge rise in popularity.
The only trouble is that they are more like foxes than dogs and the RSPCA has called for them to be banned.
They scavenge like foxes and if they escape (or are set free by owners unable to cope) pose a threat to wildlife.
Tanukis have become very popular pets since appearing on social media
They also harbour such a high level of parasites that there are fears they could be lethal to humans. Sweden is culling them, such are the problems they cause. Tanukis are undeniably attractive – to look at.
But they are not suitable pets. Neither are meerkats and another story I found deeply upsetting involved an animal tragedy.
At the height of their popularity a couple of years ago, someone stole a meerkat from London Zoo.
The poor thing was terrified, escaped and shortly afterwards was run over by a car.
That’s real cruelty to animals: treating them like cuddly toys rather than creatures to be respected – and in some cases to be kept very much at arm’s length.
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Blair admits he 'wasn't aware of the numbers' on EU migration
Blair still juggling dates and numbers
Tony Blair is at it again, claiming on last Sunday’s The Andrew Marr Show that mass European immigration didn’t start until 2008, when it actually began in 2004, the year the EU expanded and 10 more countries were allowed in.
Unlike most other European leaders our then PM neglected to impose transitional controls.
He had “no idea” how many people would come here, he added. What did he think would happen when you give people from very poor states the right to move to a much richer one?
Has any other PM ever displayed such contempt for what the people actually want?
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Half of adults regard their mum as their biggest confidante
My greatest confidante
This Sunday is Mother’s Day and a new poll reveals that half of adults regard their mum as their biggest confidante.
That was true of me before I lost mine first to dementia and then all together last year.
For years I refused to send Mother’s Day cards on the grounds that it was over-commercial, until I realised she probably didn’t care how commercial it was.
If you still have your mum, get a card in the post.
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Lord Lucan disappeared 43 years ago
‘Lucky’ Lucan’s legacy
Some crimes really do have repercussions over decades.
A full 43 years after Lord Lucan’s disappearance, his wife Lady Lucan has agreed to take part in a documentary – and one of her motives, it is said, is to “get revenge” against their son.
How tragic. “Lucky” Lucan did an awful lot more than kill one poor, innocent woman that night.
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French and Saunders have apparently turned down £2.5million to host the new Great British Bake Off: how very nice for them that they clearly don’t need the dough.
But also how wise. The rebooted Chris Evans-led Top Gear was a car crash of a show (pun intended) which destroyed a busload of entertainment industry reputations.
This tells you all you need to know about the new GBBO. Avoid.