Odesa residents organize a protest to save a raccoon from a petting zoo

On August 2, a group of Odesa residents gathered near the City Center shopping mall on Nebesna Sotnya Avenue to demand that the petting zoo be closed due to the poor condition of Lucik the raccoon.

The protesters were holding posters calling for the raccoon to be saved and criticizing petting zoos as a phenomenon.

The scandal began with a post by a blogger who accidentally spotted a raccoon in the Odesa petting zoo that looked exhausted and indifferent to the world around it. The post and the video garnered more than five million views on social media, with the animal depicted with tears in its eyes and slow movements.

After that, the zoo staff started a section on Instagram called "Lucik's Diary" where they post videos of the raccoon actively eating, drinking and playing. They assure that the raccoon is under constant supervision and has everything he needs for a comfortable life.

"Its calm appearance in the video is often perceived as sadness, but this is just a feature of raccoons' behavior at the moment of rest," they insist.

However, netizens insist that the videos are old and the raccoon is actually in poor condition.

Daria Senchyna, the director of the petting zoo, told Suspilne that the raccoon is currently undergoing a seasonal coat change, so the fur looks like that. And the dirt on the body is a special ointment to improve the condition of the coat. When asked if the staff veterinarian could comment on the manipulations with the animal, they said no.

Subsequently, Angelika posted an audio recording on social media with the testimony provided by her former employee. The woman worked at the zoo in 2019, under the previous director. In the recording, she talks, among other things, about cases of animal killing.

Intent also contacted the zoo for comment.

Кирило Бойко