Raccoon Kept At Derby Restaurant Removed By CT DEEP

DERBY, CT — A raccoon being kept at a Derby restaurant was removed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection late last month, according to the department.

In a joint statement sent to Patch, officials for DEEP and the state departments of agriculture and public health said EnCon Police officers removed a raccoon that was being kept illegally at Bartone's Apizza on Oct. 28 after receiving an anonymous complaint.

DEEP, DPH and DoAg are "currently evaluating next steps," the statement reads.

DEEP and DoAg also emphasized that keeping raccoons and other wild animals as pets "is against the law and can endanger people, pets and the animals themselves," and anyone who finds wildlife that appears sick, injured or orphaned "is asked to contact local animal control or a licensed wildlife rehabilitator rather than attempting to care for it yourself."

DEEP also provided further information on raccoons and rabies and wildlife in Connecticut from the department's wildlife team, as well as information about rabies from DPH.

A request for further information about the raccoon found in Derby from DEEP was not immediately returned Tuesday.

The Connecticut Post reports a woman who helps run the pizzeria said she found the baby raccoon alone behind the restaurant a few months ago and kept it clean and fed outside in a habitat underneath a porch.

The woman also told CT Post the raccoon was never inside the restaurant or around garbage, and health inspectors evaluated the restaurant after DEEP removed the animal but did not find any violations.

Requests for comment from Bartone's Apizza and the Naugatuck Valley Health District were not immediately returned Tuesday.