Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

Let me introduce myself here to everyone. My name is Shellie and I live in the Boston, Massachusettes area. My family recently purchased a baby raccoon and have had her here in our home for 6 weeks now. She has made such a wonderful pet and is deeply loved by us.

This brings me to why I am posting here. Due to this monkey pox scare she was taken from our home today with threats of killing her. We were left with no information on where she was being taken or what was going to happen to her. All we were told is that she may be 'destroyed' to protect the public. She was never exsposed to this virus in the first place, because she was living in our ome prior to this outbreak. She is the pet of a 4 year old little boy who tonight cried himself to sleep because he thinks "the bad man" is going to kill her.

Please visit the link included and read everything as it tells her story. Then please visit and sign the petion to save her life. Feel free to pass the link along to all your animal loving friends. Also call your local news and political leaders and complain to them about the cruelties this animal is having to endure.

Thankyou all
Shellie
EPAAC save the life of an innocent animal

Why don't you just sue them? They stole your pet. Get a lawyer. That will be a lot more effective than some online petition.
Um... is taking racoons from the wild legal in your state?

Because if it's not, I'd say Fish and Game has every right to seize the animal, although not without a warrant.

We are now planning to follow up on this with a law suit, and are gathering informationand facts to help our case. Thankyou for the words of encouragement or agreement.

She actually wasn't taken from the wild. Roxy came from a licensed breeder who has been doing this for between 15-20 years now. This breeder has Roxy's parents as well grandparents still living with her. According to the laws and how they are written here it is illegal to own a wild raccoon. I would never want one from the wild in the first place too many risks, that is why we went through a breeder.

Your signature would be greatly appreciated though. It will help the cause in the end allowing us to show proof that we are not the only ones who feel this way about what has been labeled as 'exotic' pets.

That sucks, but it would have been a good idea to check the laws before you got your pet. You might not have much of a legal ground to stand on because of that.

hey, im not trying to seem evil. but the animal could have been a vector for the virus ( carry virus but show no symptoms of it). and yes the should have tested it for it, but sometimes they are hard to find untill the animals start to show signs of the virus.

i donno much about the virus so i cant say much, but thats the only logical reson i think of so far

im sorry it is harsh what they did ( but i donno if its unjust). i think they should have contacted u, but then imagen them trying to contact 100s and thousands of people. it would cost a fortune.

I doubt that the fact that your pets parents and grandparents are kept in captivity will make much of a difference. Most laws regarding wild animlas will require that the animlas be more than 2 or 3 generations removed form the wild. Also, Just because an person may legaly breed and sell racoons does not mean that you can legally purchase or own them. I'm sorry about the situation that you got yourself into, but a bit of friendly advice would tell you not to waste your money on a lawsuit. I seriously doubt if you would win. Any decent lawyer should be able to tell you that.

Steve Schindler

Hello Shellie -

I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s been traumatic having your pet seized by the authorities. However, I think your petition is a lost cause, and your ordeal could have been prevented by a little advance research.

It took me a few seconds to type "raccoon law Massachusetts" into my search engine. It took me about a minute of surfing to find the following from the Mass Wildlife site

The only exempt wild animals which may be taken from the wild in Massachusetts are certain reptiles and amphibians (321 CMR 3.05). Such animals may be kept as personal pets, but may not be sold, bartered, or exchanged.

The fact that someone else took it or its parents from the wild would not appear to give you any legal basis for appeal. Unless you can demonstrate that you are a engaged in scientific, educational, or commercial activities, you cannot get a permit to keep a raccoon in Massachusetts. Regardless, these permits are NOT issued for the purpose of maintaining them as pets. Period. End of discussion.

I didn’t do any further research nor did I follow your link, but I’d bet that few if any states allow people to keep raccoons as pets. Starting with their role in the spread of rabies and ending with the destructiveness of adult captive ‘coons, its hard to make a case for a change in these laws. You say your four year old child is distraught. If I had to make a choice between allowing adult-supervised contact between this child and an adult raccoon or a 200 pound Burmese python – the python would win hands down.

-Joan

>>Hi all,
>>
>> Let me introduce myself here to everyone. My name is Shellie and I live in the Boston, Massachusettes area. My family recently purchased a baby raccoon and have had her here in our home for 6 weeks now. She has made such a wonderful pet and is deeply loved by us.
>>
>> This brings me to why I am posting here. Due to this monkey pox scare she was taken from our home today with threats of killing her. We were left with no information on where she was being taken or what was going to happen to her. All we were told is that she may be 'destroyed' to protect the public. She was never exsposed to this virus in the first place, because she was living in our ome prior to this outbreak. She is the pet of a 4 year old little boy who tonight cried himself to sleep because he thinks "the bad man" is going to kill her.
>>
>> Please visit the link included and read everything as it tells her story. Then please visit and sign the petion to save her life. Feel free to pass the link along to all your animal loving friends. Also call your local news and political leaders and complain to them about the cruelties this animal is having to endure.
>>
>> Thankyou all
>> Shellie
>>EPAAC save the life of an innocent animal