There's a campaign in Wales to have three stolen raccoons returned to their rightful owner

Concerns were raised this week when local crime reporter Jason Evans quipped that raccoons were being sold on the black market in Welsh pubs.

While Llywynhendy Police confirmed to i100.co.uk that three raccoons had indeed been stolen, they knew "nothing about them being sold in pubs".

The raccoons went missing from their home in the village of Hendy between Saturday 2nd of January and Sunday 3rd of January from an inclosure outside trampolining centre "Funsters".

Kath Evans, friend of "Funsters" owner, was responsible for looking after the racoons for the weekend. She told the South Wales Evening Post:

I was devastated.They were there one day when I fed them, but when I came down the following day they were gone, and someone had left the two gates open.

A spokesperson for the Llywynhendy Police told i100.co.uk, simply:

The raccoons were there and now they're not.

No sightings of the raccoons have been reported in pubs (or anywhere else) so far.

But not everyone is taking the hunt for the raccoons as seriously as the police:

If you have any information that could lead to the safe return of these raccoons, please contact Llwynhendy Police by dialling 101. A hashtag campaign #returntheraccoons has now been launched:

And, for bonus raccoon knowledge: a spokesperson for Camarthen County Council told i100.co.uk that you do not need a licence to keep a raccoon but they would check that it is living in adequate living conditions.

One big question remains, however: