Massachusetts animal rights advocates are sounding the alarm after a local police department in Worcester County euthanized a raccoon described as “disoriented” and “wobbling” on Christmas.
The Hopedale Police Department responded to reports of a raccoon behaving “aggressively” on Christmas Day, including a call that the animal allegedly attacked an individual in a residential neighborhood.
“Due to the density of the neighborhood and the presence of nearby homes and residents, the use of a firearm was not a safe or appropriate option,” Town Administrator Mitch Ruscitti and Police Chief Mark Giovanella said in a joint statement. “Officers, therefore, employed the safest available method under the circumstances to euthanize and eliminate the threat.”
“The actions taken by the responding officer were lawful, necessary, and fully authorized under Massachusetts law and public health guidance,” the officials added. “The Town unequivocally supports the officer and the Police Department in carrying out their duties to protect the community and prevent serious harm.”
Animal rights organizations and wildlife rescues across Massachusetts are expressing outrage over the incident.
Newhouse Wildlife Rescue, a Chelmsford-based nonprofit that helps injured and orphaned wildlife in the Bay State, is calling for police officers to receive “specific training on how to handle these situations” and to prioritize relationships with local rehabilitators.
The wildlife rescue highlighted how it decided to “humanely” euthanize a Cooper’s Hawk that came in on Christmas Eve, with a wound in its chest that the organization deemed “irreparable.”
“That was his Christmas present this year — a quick and painless end to his suffering,” the rescue stated in a Facebook post on Saturday. “Some animals aren’t so lucky. There seems to be a disconnect our state and many others need to work on.”
“Police officers are here to defend our citizens,” the rescue added, “but often get called out to wildlife issues that they are not trained nor prepared for. This often results in an unnecessary painful ending for an animal that may have even been savable.”
The Hopedale town administrator and police chief highlighted how callers reporting the raccoon to the department described the animal as “disoriented, wobbling and acting erratically.” The officials said that behavior is “recognized by public health authorities as consistent with potential rabies infection.”
“Rabies is a fatal disease,” they stated, “and suspected rabid animals that have already exhibited aggressive behavior require prompt intervention to prevent further exposure to residents, including children and pets.”
Teper Legal, a Swansea-based law firm that specializes in animal law and rescue cases, says the Hopedale incident is the latest in a “disturbing and escalating pattern of untrained, unlawful, and cruel animal encounters by law enforcement.”
The firm is demanding mandatory wildlife and domestic-animal encounter training, use-of-force standards involving animals, and “accountability when laws are violated.”
“This is not random,” the firm stated in a Facebook post on Friday. “This is systemic. This is a continuous failure of training, supervision, accountability, and respect for state and federal law.”
The Hopedale town administrator and police chief added that the town has received “reports that individuals have attempted to identify, harass, or publicly speculate about the mental health or fitness of the officer involved.”
“Personal attacks, doxxing, and harassment — whether directed at law enforcement officers or any Town employee,” they stated, “are unacceptable and place individuals at risk.”
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