Montreal man fights charges after rescuing baby raccoon ‘Pepper’ that bonded to him

A Montreal man who rescued an injured raccoon and nursed it back to health says he is now fighting charges and trying to prevent wildlife authorities from taking the animal.

Louka Berman found the seven-month-old raccoon, which he named Pepper, injured at a construction site in May.

He said the animal and its mother had been shot with a crossbow.

“Someone shot her with a crossbow, and they shot her too. So they thought that they were both dead,” Berman said.

Berman nursed Pepper back to health with the intention of eventually returning her to the wild, but the baby raccoon has other ideas.

Attempts to release the raccoon have been unsuccessful, he said, because Pepper will stay in the wooded area where he leaves her and wait for him to return.

“She’s attached to me,” Berman said with a laugh. “And I’m attached to her too.”

After videos of Berman and Pepper went viral, Quebec’s Environment Ministry came looking for the raccoon, accusing him of keeping the animal in his home.

Authorities did not find Pepper.

In Quebec, a permit is required to possess a raccoon at home. Berman insists he is not keeping Pepper at his residence and says he has instead been hiding her in parks.

“For the past week and still the next week they can just come at anytime to grab her,” he said.

Berman said he fears wildlife authorities may euthanize Pepper.

He also said he is facing an obstruction charge, in addition to a ticket authorities wanted to issue over allegations that he was keeping the raccoon at home.

Berman plans to go to court to fight the charges.

Sophie Gaillard, with the Montreal SPCA’s animal advocacy and legal and government affairs team, said the circumstances raise questions about whether Berman is legally in possession of the animal.

“It’s unclear in this situation whether he is actually in possession of the raccoon or not — so it’s a bit of a blurry line,” Gaillard said.

Pepper’s apparent difficulty in returning to the wild could be an indication that the young raccoon has become habituated to people.

“It sounds like a situation where this animal would need to be rehomed in a wildlife sanctuary,” Gaillard said.

She said the case also points to a broader shortage of facilities able to care for injured wildlife in Quebec. Even the SPCA does not have the means to care for such animals and cannot always find another organization able to take them in.

“Every year, we experience this issue where we have animals that, unfortunately, we have to euthanize because we can’t find a facility to take them in,” Gaillard said.

An  online fundraiser has now been launched in Pepper’s name to help fund a wildlife sanctuary.

For now, Berman and Pepper’s supporters are hoping a home can be found for the raccoon that would allow her to be saved.