PETA Offers Reward of Up to $5,000 in Raccoon-Burning Case

For Immediate Release:
February 2, 2021

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction on cruelty charges of the person(s) responsible for setting a live raccoon on fire. When the raccoon, a young adult, was found in Price Hill on the morning of January 26, he or she was barely breathing and had third-degree burns all over the face and body. A veterinarian determined that euthanasia was the kindest option.

“The animal had burnt skin and charred fur and was in extreme pain,” an investigator with Hamilton County Animal Control Services told PETA. “We hope anyone with any information on this violent crime will come forward to police.”

“This raccoon deserved to have a peaceful life of foraging for food and raising a family, not the terror and agony of being burned and left for dead,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “Every animal in Cincinnati is in danger as long as this abuser is at large, and PETA urges anyone who knows anything about this case to report it immediately.”

PETA notes that wild animals aren’t the only ones at risk from abusers, and dogs and cats should never be left unattended in the backyard or be allowed to roam alone outdoors. In addition to being harmed by cruel humans, “backyard dogs” and “outdoor cats” can contract fatal diseases, be hit by cars, be poisoned, or simply become lost.

Anyone with pertinent information should contact Hamilton County Animal Control Services at 513-541-7387.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.