Raccoons with a thirst for beer are causing havoc in Germany.
Drunken raccoons are wreaking havoc across Germany
Residents across the country are facing bills of up to €10,000 after returning from holidays to discover that their homes have been completely trashed by the rodents - who are stealing booze and slaughtering family pets.
Germany's National Hunting Association (DJV) is attempting to control the surging population and has killed 200,000 of the animals over the past year, although experts suggest that this has actually had an adverse impact as the "unbelievably adaptable animal" has increased its birth rate.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - a daily German newspaper - said: "These animals, which are so cute at first sight, have become a plague in some parts of the country.
"But the problem can no longer be eradicated, so we have to learn to live with them. In less than a century this species has made Germany its home. That's a story of both success and suffering."