A lady who introduced a wild raccoon right into a North Dakota bar, which prompted state well being officers to challenge a warning about potential rabies publicity, is going through felony costs.
Erin Christensen, 38, of Maddock, is charged with misdemeanor counts of offering false info to legislation enforcement, tampering with bodily proof and illegal possession of furbearers.
Christensen was arrested final week after authorities discovered her and the raccoon by serving a number of search warrants in and round Maddock.
Christensen stated her household discovered the raccoon on the aspect of a street about three months in the past and named it Rocky. She stated they had been nursing the animal again to well being with plans to launch it again into the wild.
It’s unlawful beneath North Dakota Board of Animal Well being legal guidelines to maintain a wild raccoon. Authorities euthanized the animal, and it examined destructive for rabies.
Christensen took Rocky to Maddock Bar on Sept. 6 throughout glad hour and confirmed the raccoon to prospects. Bartender Cindy Smith stated the animal by no means bit anybody on the bar.
Nonetheless, North Dakota’s Well being and Human Companies Division issued a warning asking anybody who might have been bitten or had contact with the raccoon’s saliva to hunt medical care.
“It’s unfair and an excessive amount of was performed to detain an harmless raccoon,” Christensen stated in a Wednesday assertion to the Bismarck Tribune. “They weren’t apprehensive in regards to the well being of us if we had rabies or not. They had been apprehensive about discovering and killing Rocky and placing me behind bars.”
The costs in opposition to Christensen carry a most punishment of about two years in jail and $7,500 in fines. Her preliminary courtroom look is about for Monday.
Maddock is city of about 500 folks positioned about 85 miles (137 kilometers) from the Canadian border.
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