An animal care supervisor at the Critter Care Wildlife Society in Langley is calling it one of the worst cases of animal cruelty she has seen in three years with the wildlife rehabilitation facility.
Someone tried to drown a young raccoon after leaving it in a trap for over a week, according to Brooklynn Martin, who said staff at Critter Care rescued the raccoon on Friday after a tenant in a Burnaby residence contacted them to say the landlord had live-trapped a raccoon and left it in the trap for over a week.
“When the raccoon hadn’t died from hunger or the the elements the [tenant said the] landlord proceeded to try and kill the raccoon by placing the live trap face-down in a garbage can full of water,” Martin said.
“The raccoon remained this way for multiple days but some how managed to stay alive.”
Martin said when the tenant realized the raccoon was still in the trap ,they released it in the yard and called Critter Care.
As soon as the animal arrived back at the center it was wrapped in heat, given antibiotics for the fluid it had accumulated in its lungs, pain meds and a shot of vitamins.
Martin said the raccoon was very weak and did not require sedation.
“I held her wrapped like a baby in my arms,” Martin told Black Press.
After a few hours, the raccoon died.
Martin said the incident has been reported to the BC SPCA cruelty line, conservation officers, and The Association for the Protection of Fur Bearing Animals.
She called it “one of the most horrific cases of cruelty” staff have encountered, noting the facility is often called to rescue animals caught in leg-hold traps.
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