Montreal's 'Raccoon Guy' Evades Quebec Wildlife Officers, Vaccinates Pet Raccoon Pepper Against Rabies

The first time Quebec environmental enforcement officers came for his raccoon, Louka Berman says he hid the animal in a park. Three officers from the provincial wildlife authority arrived at his Montreal apartment in early October with a warrant to seize it. By his account, he let them in, then grabbed the raccoon and ran. When he came back, one of the officers told him he would be fined for obstruction of justice.

It happened again on Oct. 22. Berman says he saw enforcement officers pulling up on the street beside his apartment and took the raccoon, named Pepper, and ran once more. "They want to kill my baby, why wouldn't I be paranoid?" he said. Weeks of dodging authorities have made the pair local celebrities in Montreal.

Berman now describes a nomadic life. He sleeps in his car or at friends' homes. He leaves Pepper outside, and says the raccoon either stays in the same area or finds its way back to him. "It's been peaceful, but we're not out of the woods yet," he said.

The attention has brought money. Berman says he has cashed in more than $10,000 from a cryptocurrency launched by someone else, who made a "Pepper coin" with the raccoon as its face and offered him a cut of the transaction fees. A separate online fundraiser, posted Oct. 15, has collected over $3,000. Berman says he organized neither, but hopes the money can help build a sanctuary for wild animals. He says he is working on the permits to open a modest refuge for up to 15 animals.

On Monday, he took Pepper to a refuge north of Montreal to be vaccinated against rabies. Quebec is dealing with a raccoon rabies outbreak, though it has not reached Montreal or the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. Berman said the shot would silence people who ask what if the animal has rabies.

The bond began in May, when Berman found an injured baby raccoon. He left his job, planning to nurse it back to health for a few weeks and then release it. Pepper would not go. Each time Berman took him to a park, the raccoon found its way back. In September, a video of Berman riding a bike with Pepper on his shoulder went viral, and he was dubbed Montreal's "raccoon guy."

The province does not share the enthusiasm. Ministry spokesperson Daniel Labonté told The Canadian Press that keeping a wild animal like a raccoon captive requires a permit from the environment ministry, and that even with one, keeping a raccoon as a pet is not allowed. A first offence can bring a fine of $1,000 to $5,000. Labonté said the wildlife authority received a report about a man riding a bicycle with a raccoon on his shoulder and investigated, but would not comment further. He said the ministry tries to find a shelter or free seized animals, though euthanasia remains a last resort. The Montreal SPCA said it does not condone domesticating wild animals and advises people not to intervene with the species unless necessary.

The case echoes one from 2013, when Jacques Lessard and Rachel Garenne nursed an orphaned raccoon named Nymous back to health. After the government captured it, they fought to get it back and eventually won a special permit. They now run the refuge near Launaudière where Pepper was vaccinated. Nymous died in 2015 of complications from a sterilization operation, Lessard said, and he teared up saying Pepper's story reminded him of it. New government restrictions mean the refuge cannot take Pepper, so Garenne met Berman in a grassy area about two kilometres away. Pepper ate a blueberry muffin and trail mix on a picnic table while they discussed his health.

Berman has little doubt Pepper would be euthanized if seized. "As long as Pepper is alive, I think it's just always going to find support — or until they decide to leave us alone, we'll see what comes first," he said. What happens next depends on whether officers catch up with him, and whether his refuge permits come through.