KADE, Germany: For some, a cute personable rascal, for others a ubiquitous pest. The raccoon has now found its way into a German butcher's shop, as a sausage.
Michael Reiss, first came up with the idea after being asked to represent his district for Berlin's 2023 agriculture fair, The Green Week.
Eager to show what his skills could do and showcase his region, Reiss came up with the idea of the raccoon meatball, to glowing reviews.
Originally from North America the raccoon has almost no natural enemies in Europe and has proliferated throughout Germany.
Not counted as an endangered species, Germany's raccoons may be professionally hunted.
"In most cases they just get thrown away (dead racoons)," says Reiss.
"According to official hunting statistics around 300,000 and 400,000 are caught (annually). That figure doesn't even include the raccoon that the allotment gardener unofficially catches," Reiss tells Reuters from his shop in Kade.
"I thought, that is a resource that I can do something with. And in terms of the meat processing it actually goes through the same processes as the other game species."
Reiss, formerly a car mechanic, who received his EU butchers' certification in 2022, has a license to hunt 2000 hectares of land.
Before the meat is even processed a vet visits the shop to check all the carcasses, a sample is then sent to the laboratory, then it gets its EU stamp and then finally the meat can be processed.
Reiss will not use or process raccoons caught in beater hunts.
Each raccoon yields some 2-2.5 kilos meat. And the taste:
"Many customers describe the raccoon balls as fluffy... that's because the meat has a very soft consistency? That's why I created this raccoon-deer salami, because the soft raccoon meat and the dry, low-fat deer meat create a bit of a middle ground and there is a product that is much more representative for those who don't want to eat wild boar or pork or are not allowed to eat it," Reiss says.
In the meanwhile the meatballs have grown into a mix of six offerings, including pate, sausages and knackwurst.
Reiss also runs an online shop and a food truck with the crispy knackwurst sausage in a roll as his best seller.
Seen frequently on social media interacting with humans or rummaging through rubbish and people's lofts and garages, the raccoon has become something of a digital star. Reiss says he is not anti-raccoon at all.
"I also think that the animals are cute," he says, "but even cute animals don't spare the ducklings or all the small animals, especially in reeded areas. We have to regulate them."
As at the Green Week, so Reiss' customers seem to be delighted with the raccoon meat offerings.
"(I say to people) If you want a bratwurst, try one. If you don't like it you can have your money back."
"No one has come back yet for their money. It's more a case of: finally the little thieves are good for something!" — REUTERS