QUINCY, MASS. (WHDH) - A Quincy man was arrested and charged with animal cruelty after police say he attempted to light a raccoon on fire.
Quincy Police received a call on Saturday, Dec. 30 reporting that a person was attempting to light a raccoon on fire in the backyard of a house on Royal Street.
Upon arrival, officers saw two neighbors arguing and a live raccoon, with apparent burn injuries, in a trap cage.
In a video obtained by police, authorities said, Andrew Chieu, 63, of Quincy, could be seen “building a fire in a tin can” before placing the caged raccoon “on top of the tin can as the fire intensified”.
Chieu was placed under arrest and charged with violating animal cruelty laws. He was arraigned in Quincy District Court on Tuesday.
The raccoon was transported to a local animal hospital for treatment. In an update provided by the New England Wildlife Center, officials said the raccoon remained in critical condition as of Wednesday after suffering severe burns to its stomach, back, and paws.
“Almost all of its fur is either completely missing or burnt from the fire,” the organization stated on Facebook. “Burns this severe are extremely painful and pose a severe health risk for the animal. Besides the obvious skin damage, burns this widespread can lead to severe infection, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and blood pressure issues.”
“Unfortunately, in this business, we see a lot of heartbreaking things and, for sure, this case is one of the most heartbreaking,” said Zak Mertz, the CEO of New England Wildlife Centers. “He does have 3rd degree burns to his flank, to the stomach, and to the paws, which is really the most heartbreaking thing because of any animal in the animal kingdom, [raccoons] have more nerves running to their hands, so we know this is incredibly painful.”
The center added that while the raccoon has a long road to recovery ahead of it, they described the animal as “a fighter and we will do everything we can to get him through.”
“We’re cautiously optimistic that the raccoon is going to make a full recovery,” Mertz told 7NEWS. “Obviously with burns this severe, it’s a really rough case.”
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