The hammered animal ‘fell through a ceiling tile’ of the US liquor store before setting about the whiskey selection with all the gusto of a teenager on their first holiday to Magaluf
A “very intoxicated” raccoon was spotted lying face-down inside a bathroom after it went on a drunken rampage through an alcohol shop. The crazed critter was found sleeping off possibly the worst hangover of its life by the toilet on Saturday morning after leaving a trail of destruction in the Ashland ABC store in Virginia, US.
Hilarious pictures show the damage the masked bandit caused to the shop, with broken spirit bottles, toppled boxes and disheveled shelves, according to Hanover County Animal Protection and Shelter.
“They are funny little creatures,” animal control Samantha Martin told Associated Press after she found the drunkard. “He fell through one of the ceiling tiles and went on a full-blown rampage, drinking everything.”
Pictures from the shelter suggest the raccoon took his fill from a lot of different types of spirits. But there seemed to be one particular beverage it was drawn to – whiskey.
In fact, the tipsy beast appeared to be one with a certain degree of taste. Images suggest the raccoon sampled a variety of scotch and whiskey, including Jameson.
Officials said they bundled the trashed animal – who came quietly – back to the shelter to “sober up before questioning”.
“After a few hours of sleep and zero signs of injury (other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices), he was safely released back to the wild, hopefully having learned that breaking and entering is not the answer,” officials said in their cheeky Facebook post.
“A big shout-out to Officer Martin for handling this chaotic scene with professionalism and good humor. Just another day in the life at Hanover Animal Protection.”
The raccoon escaped with a caution and a slap on the wrist, before being released safely back into the wild to tell his mates about the craziest night of his life.
In 2023, strange reports emerged of rowdy raccoons with a taste for beer and a knack for breaking into homes setting up home in Britain in increasing numbers.
The mammals, native to North America and which have a bandit-style black stripe across their eyes, were first spotted in the UK in the 1970s after being released by pet owners.
The critters – which are masters at breaking into homes and bins, even raiding fridges for beer and snacks – were banned from being brought into the UK as pets in 2016 in a bid to stop the risk of escape or release into the wild.
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