Raccoons are fascinating critters but they don’t make good pets. Their curiosity makes them quite disruptive and damaging, and they have seriously injured people (particularly infants). They are also rabies vectors, and in many regions raccoon ownership (along with other wildlife species) is illegal (or only legal with a license). Despite all this, some people continue to keep raccoons as pets, and injuries continue to happen. Unfortunately, it’s often not the owners that suffer the consequences, but children.
A one-week-old Griggville, Illinois baby is in hospital after being attacked by her grandparents’ pet raccoon. The baby was in a room with the raccoon (not a good idea to start with), when the raccoon starting biting and scratching the baby’s face and head. The raccoon’s owner thinks the raccoon wasn’t being vicious, just curious and trying to get a ribbon off of the baby.
"Rampy was trying to get the bow off the baby’s head and it’s got long claws and he was scratching up the head trying to get the bow off," said the owner.
Regardless, the fact that it caused severe injury indicates it’s a hazard. (Wounds caused by accidents heal at the same rates as those caused my malice.)
Euthanasia of the raccoon was requested to test it for rabies. The owner countered that it had been vaccinated against rabies and dewormed (which raises the question of what veterinarian did this. I’d consider vaccinating and deworming an illegal pet unethical at best). Further, rabies vaccination does not guarantee that the raccoon isn’t rabid. A judge eventually ordered the raccoon to be euthanized.
You’d think the raccoon’s owners would be aghast at the attack. While I can see how they’d be attached to their pet, typically concern over a grandchild takes precedence. Not here, however, as the owners fought the euthanasia order and are railing against local authorities for having the raccoon euthanized after a potentially life-threatening attack. Even the infant’s father is taken back by their attitude, stating "If it was somebody’s dog that bit a kid, they’d be held accountable. These people should be held accountable for [the raccoon]."