A woman entered a bar in September while carrying a rabid raccoon. She was charged with a misdemeanor in North Dakota before the end of 2022.
According to the Bismarck Tribune, 38-year-old Erin Christensen of Maddock entered a guilty plea on Tuesday to misdemeanor charges of giving the wrong information to law enforcement, tampering with evidence, and illegally possessing a live animal.
She received a year of probation and a six-month jail sentence with suspension from Northeast District Judge Donovan Foughty. Additionally, he mandated that she pay $1,100 in fees and fines.
She could have received a sentence as severe as two years in prison and $7,500 in fines.
For the Love of Rocky
According to court records, Christensen claimed that her family had been caring for the raccoon, known as Rocky, as it recovered from an injury when she brought it into the pub on September 6. Even though Rocky didn't run away or bite anyone, a bartender claimed, state health officials nonetheless issued a warning about possible rabies exposure.
Authorities executed numerous search warrants within and around Maddock to locate Christensen and the raccoon, and on September 14 they finally found them. She refused to reveal Rocky's location, according to court records.
According to the North Dakota Game and Fish website, it is against the law to keep a wild raccoon as a pet, just as it is against the law to keep a bat or a skunk because they are known rabies carriers. The raccoon, who tested negative for rabies, was ultimately put to death by authorities.
According to Christensen, Rocky's fate has traumatized her family, AP News reports.
Rocky did not bite anyone during the visit, the bartender told The Guardian, but the outing still caused a health scare, leading North Dakota's health and human services department to issue a warning about potential rabies exposure.
When police located Christensen and Rocky, she told the Bismarck Tribune that they used a battering ram to smash down the front door of the house.
She faces accusations of lying to law enforcement, tampering with tangible evidence, and illegally possessing furbearers.
Read also: NYC Pest Control Project for Invasive Species Kills Woodpecker Instead
Raccoons
Raccoons are known as scavengers in cities and towns because they frequently rummage through trash cans in search of food. They have remarkably dexterous front paws.
Raccoons, however, prefer to eat plants, fruits, seeds, and nuts in the wild. They can be kept as pets in some US states, including Florida, but frequently they shouldn't have been taken from the wild.
Although it is forbidden to own raccoons in North Dakota, Christensen called Rocky's situation "unfair". She told the Tribune that to detain a defenseless raccoon, too much was done. The last update in early October of a GoFundMe page, "Justice for Rocky," that has been created to assist her had collected at least $4,800 of a $10,000 target.
According to National Geographic Kids, raccoons have a one- to three-year lifespan in the wild, but can live up to 20 years in captivity.
Related article: Wildlife Rehabs Warn of Worsening Conditions for Botched Unprofessional DIY Animal Rescue Attempts
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